Lily, a stag and a castle
by emerald-eyed-stag
Summary: Lily and James are at school...basically its all about them falling in love, growing up, hanging out and fighting Voldermort.It'll be a year of pulling pranks, glimpses into the furture, werewolves, and a mystery...SBOC, JL, RLOC Please read it and reveiw
1. Return to Hogwarts

LilyEvans looked up at the castle and smiled, tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't tell weather they were tears of happiness, or weather she was sad, because stepping into the castle would mean it was officially her last year at Hogwarts, and that was something that she couldn't bare.

Students rushed in around her, entering the castle chattering excitedly to their friends, but Lily was still slightly reluctant to cross the threshold. She just couldn't do it.

Deciding that she would stand to the side and wait for her friends, she moved out of the mainstream flow of young witches and wizards and looked out into the crowd. If the train ride to Hogwarts was and indication, this year was going to be a large stroke different to the last one.

To Lily's great displeasure, it seemed that she and her friends were now spending quiet a lot of time with the marauders, a group of four boys who were also in Griffindore, in Lily's year, and who she normally couldn't stand. She had thought that her friends had found them unbearable as well, however, over the summer Dani had become quite bestowed with Sirius Black, a popular and very good looking boy, with a daring edge and a loud mouth. His dark hair swept his deep eyes, and he had a smile that melted the hearts of the majority of the girls at Hogwarts, and made them weak at the knees.

Lily told herself that she should be grateful that Dani had only now become obsessed with the smouldering daredevil, when she had suspected it for a long while. Dani was one of the prettiest girls in the grade, and it was only a matter of time before she fell for either James or Sirius.

_Thank god it wasn't James-_Lily thought to herself, as she pulled her cloak tighter around her and stood on her tiptoes, peering into the darkness in search of two familiar faces.

James Potter was, in Lily's opinion, an arrogant smart-ass. He prided himself on being the hight of cool, a master Quidditch player, and troublemaker extraordinaire. He and Sirius were inseparable, and the ringleaders of their little gang, which they seemed to have formed their first night at Hogwarts. He did anything to boost his popularity in the school, even when it came at the expense of another persons dignity, and Lily couldn't stand that. Another thing she couldn't stand was that the exceptionally good looking boy had taken a strong liking to her since their fourth year at Hogwarts, and took it upon himself to ask her out at least once a day. He liked to keep his dark hair looking frightfully windswept, which made him look as though he had just gotten off a broom, and very striking at the same time. If something went wrong at the school, it would be a safe bet to believe that Sirius and James were behind it.

And now Ella seemed to have taken up staring at Remus Lupin. This was perfectly ok with Lily. Compared to the rest of the Marauders Remus seemed almost human. Lily had to admit that there was something luring about him. His grey eyes and sandy brown hair made him look mysterious, though he was known to assist the James and Sirius whenever they got another stupid plan in their heads, he was caught in the act much less than them, and focused a lot more on school work. He was a voice of reason in their sought after little group, and the one to whom Lily found she could talk with most easily.

The last of the marauders was definitely not admired by any of Lily's friends, for which she pitied him. The boy seemed a little out of place in the handsome group of troublemakers, and he seemed nice enough when Lily made the effort to talk to him. However, he did seem a little preoccupied, for Peter Pettigrew focused more on food than girls.

"Lily!" came a faint voice from amongst the crowd. Lily sighed with relief. She was beginning to worry her friends had gone past without her, and she had missed them in the crowd.

"Lily!" Lily Evan's heart sank. It wasn't Ella or Dani who was running up the hill towards her. It wasn't Remus or Peter. Even Sirius wouldn't have been so bad. James Potter was slowing down, and walking coolly over to where she stood at the door to Hogwarts, cringing at the situation she was in.

"Potter." She said coldly. He sighed, and looked slightly hurt, yet Lily barely had time to register this temporary sign of weakness before James gave her a wicked grin, and offered her his arm.

"May I escort you to dinner fair lady?" he asked. Lily sneered back.

"Dream on Potter. Never in a million years." She said cruelly.

"A million years is a long time Evans. You sure you wanna make that kind of statement?" he said, not lowering the arm he was offering her.

"Positive. I haven't forgotten what you're like Potter."

"Charming, witty, sexy? Let me refresh your memory."

"Idiotic, attention seeking, ignorant! And my memory does not need to be refreshed!"

"I think it does Evans. I don't think you remember me at all. If that is how you remember me then I don't think you know me."

"I consider myself lucky then." She said, and stalked off into the entrance hall and took a seat the Griffindore table. Amazed that she had just walked through the door with no ceremonial sentiment, Lily gazed down the table, only to find that her friends had already found a seat when she was arguing with James, and she looked like an idiot, sitting by herself.

Lily moved herself to sit between Ella and Dani. Lupin and Sirius sat opposite, and Peter was next to him. James, to Lily's horror, sat himself down in between the two, so that he was sitting directly opposite her.

"Lily! Where have you been? We lost you after the train!" greeted James, as he took his seat. Lily rolled her eyes. The others looked bewildered.

"Haha Potter, very funny." She said, their friends exchanging clueless glances.

"That's me Lily, all funny." he joked. Lily couldn't help but crack a small smile at his persistence, even through her distaste. She disguised it quickly, though she regretted it a moment later, for James was looking oddly triumphant.

The hall fell silent, for the sorting hat was sat on a stool in front of the school, and a bundle of nervous looking first years were lined up, looking as though they wished the stone floor would swallow them up.

"_Ten centuries before today_

_This school was built by four;_

_Slytherin and Hufflepuff,_

_Griffindore and Ravenclaw._

_The four good friends set in search of young_

_Which they could help and teach._

_Magical education _

_Was well within their reach._

_A castle set beside a lake;_

_With passages and halls._

_A forest near to tempt their fate_

_While they learnt magic within it's walls. _

_But once the castle, tall and strong, _

_Was built to help the four_

_They came across a problem _

_That they hadn't seen before._

_The friends had different values,_

_Virtues, thoughts, ideas._

_So they founded the four houses_

_To divide each of the years._

_Griffindore saw bravery, loyalty and courage._

_Their burning heart and curiosity_

_Made them famous throughout the ages._

_Hufflepuff, a kind young thing-_

_She saw the good in all._

_She noticed traits no one else could see-_

_Things not valued before._

_Ravenclaw admitted those with brains-_

_The smartest of the pack._

_With cunning wit as her power_

_She always had the others back._

_Slytherin took only purebloods_

_Who he considered fierce and noble._

_She saw ambition, goals and dreams_

_That also resided in him. _

_And now I'm here to sort you-_

_Separate you into teams._

_The houses still prevail today,_

_Divided at the seams._

_Although you hear this every year_

_And I sing to you with pride_

_I split you up and splinter;_

_Never hesitate to divide._

_But this year we've entered troubles me_

_I know that something's near_

_A time of worry and hardship_

_A time of hurt and fear._

_A greater force is outside our walls_

_Just trying to get within_

_Only if we band together _

_Will we ever truly win._

_So no matter where I sort you_

_Please do not take it to heart_

_Don't lock yourselves inside your dorms;_

_Continue to stay apart._

_If we help and stick together then the better side has one_

_And with this strong and heavy note-_

_My sorting song is done._

The hat fell silent, and the occupants of the hall remained so. All through the sorting people gave nervous glances to their friends, and stared at the hat as though trying to penetrate into it's thought and discover the cause for it's sudden warnings. Lily couldn't remember the hat ever giving warnings before and, by the looks on her friends (and James) face's, they couldn't either.

The warning of the sorting hat was a hot topic of conversation all through the feast that night, and the talk was only stopped when Dumbledore stood from his place at the table, and silence fell once more.

Lily didn't know what it was about Dumbledore that made the whole wizarding population in awe of him. His long white hair and beard could be that of any old wizard, or even a muggle grandfather. He was a tall man, with a long, crooked nose, and sparkling blue eyes. Lily idolised him, and Ella, Danielle and the marauders felt the same way. Though they couldn't pinpoint what it was, there was something about this old, kind man that demanded respect and trust.

" I would like to welcome you all back, and welcome our newcomers. I hope that you all enjoy this year at Hogwarts, and I also hope that you did not let the warning you all received from the hat put you off that delicious feast. I have a number of announcements for you all tonight, and I apologise for depriving you all of your beds for a few minutes longer."

"First of all, I would like to introduce you all to Professor Fudge, your new defence against the dark arts teacher."

A short man, wearing a bowler hat and very proper robes stood in his place at the staff table, before being seated again, once the polite applause had ceased.

"Thankyou Professor." Said Dumbledore, " and I would also like to bring to your attention that the forbidden forest on the castle grounds is still out of bounds, hence the name, as is the Whomping Willow tree, due to it's desire to mortally injure anyone who approaches it."

For some reason the Marauders exchanges significant looks, and Remus looked at James gloomily. Then he returned his gaze to Ella, whom he had been paying much more attention than he had Dumbledore.

Lily allowed her eyes to wander to James, while Dumbledore continued to talk, and was mollified to find him already looking at her, smiling. When he caught her looking back he gave her a large grin, which she did not return.

Lily hardly heard the rest of Dumbledore's speech. She was uncomfortably aware of James eyes still on the side of her face, though she didn't dare look back at him again. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

I've writen heaps more everyone! I hope that you like it! It does get beta, though I know we've all heard that before...but I think it does! Please reveiw it! Luv Ella xXx


	2. First day back

First day Back

The next morning, Lily was only just able to drag the girls down to breakfast with out waiting for the marauders, but it was tough work. Dani seemed head over heels for Sirius, though Ella was still heavily in denial over her crush on Remus. Lily personally hoped that they worked out. He was looking gloomier and gloomier every time she saw him.

I didn't make much difference though, for as soon as they had sat down at the table they were joined by James, Lupin and Sirius, who had all left Peter sleeping, a trend which was something of a habit for him, sleeping until the first class. As much as he hated to pass up food, the boy usually had a quick feast on the food supply that was sent from home for him. This mainly consisted of chocolate frogs and things of the like.

"Morning sunshine's!" James greeted the girls, making Ella and Dani giggle and Lily scoff.

"Morning Lily!" he said, making a great effort to get her to talk to him. She didn't He compensated by taking a seat next to her.

"I saw you checking me out at the feast last night." He whispered to her when the others were in a frenzied conversation about NEWTS and classes. Lily scowled.

"Checking you out? More like trying to get you to look away!"

"I couldn't bring myself to do it." He teased. Lily hit him over the head with a bagel.

Professor McGonagal brought around their timetables, and the seventh years headed for their first classes.

Lily, James and Sirius took off for care of Magical Creatures class, which was on the grounds, taken by Professor Kettleby. Dani and Ella headed for divination while Remus went by himself to meet Peter for arithmancy.

Professor Kettleby was a tall man, with wide set shoulders and dark brown hair. His arms and hands were covered in burn marks, and scars, and his face was adorned with jagged lines and bumps, all these souvenirs left from the creatures the school required him to handle.

The man standing in front of them, though, did not show any remorse for the job; no matter how many marks it left of him. He was enthusiastically chatting away to Hagrid, the school gamekeeper, who helped him with the classes. Lily liked Hagrid, with his big warm smile and small, friendly eyes. They had a lot to talk about, as she loved magical creatures, and Hagrid had, shall we say, a sort of mania for any thing that was dangerous and moved. It was no surprise, then, that he was also great friends with the marauders, who enjoyed a chat with the large, friendly man, who lived in the hut by the edge of the forest. He and his dog Fang were always worth a visit, although Sirius often got jealous of the affection his friends showed the great boarhound.

"Welcome back all! Welcome back!" the professor greeted them jovially, and Hagrid also gave the class a cheerful wave, winking at Lily, James and Sirius, who stood near the back of the class.

"Today we've got a great treat! Hagrid's been begging me to show them to you for years, though I thought that it was best we left it til now, no matter how advance you all are." He gave the students a fond smile. They were by far the easiest he had to manage, and definitely enthusiastic about the subject. He chuckled to himself. _Maybe a little too enthusiastic-_he thought, looking at Sirius Black, who was acting something out to a laughing James Potter and a sceptical Lily Evans.

Beckoning for the class to follow him, the professor walked over to the field past Hagrid's cabin, where half a dozen unusual creatures stood tethered. The class let out a gasp, and Lily grinned. Hagrid had already introduced her to the school hippogriffs. Her favourite was the young grey one, Buckbeak, who was born there at the school.

Professor Kettleby smiled at the student's reaction, and Hagrid's eyes tears up with affection as he saw the creatures.

"Hippogriffs!" the Professor announced happily to the students. He then continued to explain about the hippogriffs proud, yet friendly nature, and diet. "And if you are lucky then you might get a chance to ride one." He told the small group, and they set to work on separate hippogriffs, Lily leading the way over to Buckbeak, closely followed by James and Sirius. She wasn't sure how she felt about that this time. It had been a day since their presence became inexcusable, unless you counted the trip to Diagon Ally, and yet, she was beginning to resent them less and less. They could be quite funny when they wanted to be. They certainly looked out for her. When another boy in their class, Severus Snape, had called her a mudblood that morning he found himself with his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth, and Lily had not done the casting of the spell. And they had ignored the group of giggling girls who had squealed for them to share their hippogriff, a mangy looking creature with a squashed face.

She also enjoyed Sirius's continuous questions about Danielle, no matter how nonchalant he attempted to appear.

"Hey Beaky!" she greeted the creature affectionately when it had promptly bowed back.

"Uh…you know him?" asked James, looking at the creature apprehensively.

"Yeah, Beaky and I are old friends." She told the guys, who bowed and came forward to join them.

"You three want a ride?" asked a voice behind them. They turned to see Professor Kettleby standing behind them. Lily looked ecstatic, and James enthusiastic, but Sirius, however, took a step back, eyeing the hippogriff cautiously.

"Um, I think I'll pass…" Sirius said quietly, and Lily groaned to herself. It was just her and James.

Hagrid hoisted Lily onto the hippogriffs back, and James after her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and the bumpy take off caused him to grip her even tighter. She wrapped her arms even further around Buckbeaks neck, leaning forward as they took the most uncomfortable leap into the sky.

After the wonky sort of take-off, James still seemed reluctant to loosen his grip around Lily's waist, and so she was forced to pry his hands off.

"What the bloody hell did you do that for?" cried James, as he was almost thrown from the hippogriff's back. Lily hid a snigger.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know he'd turn then!" she apologised insincerely.

Buckbeak was still gaining height, and it wasn't long before Lily and James found themselves soaring above the clouds, which seemed to form turrets and tunnels beneath them, like a fantasy world. Lily sighed in amazement, and James smiled at her elation. Turning to catch his eyes, they shared a rare grin, before Buckbeak decided to plummet to the ground once again. The landing was just as bumpy as the takeoff, however, Lily didn't seem to mind James arms around her as much as she had done for the previous.

They returned to the ground where their fellow students were clapping and cheering, Sirius prominent among them. When he saw that Lily and James were safe, he was quite keen for a fly himself.

"You know, they'd make a great pet, wouldn't they? Hippogriffs?" Sirius discussed when the three walked up to the castle an hour later, "Great for a quick get away!" James laughed, and even Lily managed a grin. Trust Sirius to think of the beautiful creatures as a wonderful aid for mischief making.

"It was a great lesson." Said Lily, "even Beaky enjoyed himself."

James looked at her, and smiled. He loved how excited she got over things like this.

Sirius caught James looking at her, and grinned mischievously. Bumping nonchalantly into James, he sent his friend toppling into Lily, and they wound up on the ground, James on top of her, grinning ear to ear.

"Sorry mate! Didn't mean to run into you. Lost my balance there for a moment!" he consoled. Lily, he noted, looked flustered, though not altogether uncomfortable, and James looked positively gleeful.

Getting to their feet and wiping the dirt off of their robes, James and Lily muttered quick apologies before walking on, and Sirius smiled at a job well done.

When they reached charms class, they found Dani, Ella, Lupin and Peter already waiting outside the classroom. The girls were extremely jealous that they others had gotten to ride Buckbeak, and Dani told Lily quietly that she was stupid for passing up a chance to ride the beast with Sirius.

"I would have Dani, but I knew I wouldn't make it past charms if I had, you would have killed me." Dani nodded in agreement, and they took their seats before Professor Flitwick, the tiny charms teacher who stood on a pile of books and cushions so that he could see over his desk. Lily particularly enjoyed charms, probably because she was particularly skilled at the subject.

Lily and Dani were seated behind Lupin and Ella. Ella was smiling, smitten, at the boy, and looking deep into his intriguing eyes while he talked to her. She had light brown hair, and bright blue eyes. Lily, Ella and Dani had been friends since their first night at Hogwarts.

By dinnertime that night, nothing special had happened, and the first day at Hogwarts was as ordinary as any day at Hogwarts can be. The moment on the grass, however, did not transpire to be the only Sirius-induced moment that Lily and James found themselves in, so that by the end of the day Lily was frequently blushing, and James was permanently grinning broadly. Sirius was very proud indeed.

"I think this is going to be a very good year." Announced James, as they all lazed around the fire that night, in the common room.

"I agree," said Remus, his eyes glued to Ella. James smiled.

"Mmmm, it wasn't a bad first day back, was it?" said Dani, her dark hair flowing over the arm of the lounge chair where her head was rested.

"I guess." Said Lily. She still hadn't worked out weather she liked the sudden change in their group. It was strange that the boys she had so long resented were turning out to be such great people. James had helped her with her transfiguration homework, walked her to dinner, and given her his seat on the couch, yet she was still apprehensive to trust him.

It seemed like she was betraying herself. But maybe he really had changed over the summer. Grown up.


	3. Help From Hagrid

Help From Hagrid

The first week of term passed in a blur of homework, flirting, and lessons. It was obvious that this was to be their last year at the school, and if the scared looks they received from first years wasn't enough to remind them then the gruelling talks that the teachers gave them about the approaching NEWT examinations was definitely a sturdy reminder.

"Finally! A day of freedom!" said Dani when they came down to breakfast on Saturday morning, taking her seat across from James and Sirius.

"What are you talking about Doyle? We've only just gotten back!" teased Sirius.

"Shut up Mr Black, I know that's what you were thinking!" she quipped.

"Oh what, are you a master legilimens now are you? We haven't done _that_ much work this week, no matter how much you complain."

Dani had opened her mouth to say something else here, but Lily cut her off, saying the first thing that popped into her head, just to stop the morning ritual of Dani and Sirius arguing.

"So what's the plan for today?" she asked, looking at James, yet speaking loudly.

"Sleeping." Said Sirius.  
"Sounds like fun," said Lupin, sitting down next to James and picking up the jug of orange juice.

"Seriously?" Lily asked, giving the boys a sceptical look.

"No, Remusly!" Sirius laughed. The girls looked blank.

"What? You can use my name but I cant use his?" no one else found this remotely funny, so he continued with an awkward comment.

"Yeah, I'm tired, why, what are you girls going to do?" he asked.

"I dunno," Ella begun, " Do you two want to go swim in the lake? Hang round the grounds? It's such a pretty day…"

"Swim?" said Sirius excitedly, "Like, in bikinis? Count me in!"

Dani scoffed.

"Why Sirius? Do you want to wear your favourite pink one?"

"Why no Doyle m'dear, I want YOU to wear my favourite pink one!" he said Dani shot him a look to kill.

"Um, that's sounds like fun." Said Lupin loudly over the table, cutting off the other two, who were trying desperately to match wits again. James nodded in agreement. He, however, was not looking at the pair squabbling over the marmalade. His eyes were on Lily. All week there had been moments where he thought that she might actually like him, but as soon as she caught herself being nice to James Potter she had stopped immediately.

James was trying his best to win her over though. He had restrained from hexing Snape just yesterday, and though this didn't win him any recognition from Lily, he knew that if he had it would have registered.

The friends headed back to their dormitories to get changed for a day in the sun, and met back down under a huge beech tree that sat near the lake. Dani plonked herself down on the grass, and rested her head against the tree, however, Sirius had other plans. He seized her around the waist and carried her to the water.

"Say you love me Doyle!" he teased, holding her over the water.

"Never!" Dani screamed in panic. Lily rolled her eyes. Why did she have to play hard to get?

"Say I'm good-looking then!" he tried

"Why would I lie to you Black?" she cried back.

"That's it, you're going in!" Sirius announced, and he dropped her into the lake. Dani surfaced a moment later, to find her friends laughing at her bobbing head.

"Thanks a lot Sirius! I was in my clothes and everything!" she screamed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, would you have preferred it if I had taken you out of your clothes?" he cried back.

Even Dani managed to laugh at this, and Sirius jumped into the lake after her a moment later after being splashed.

Lupin looked at Ella and Lily. Ella nodded, and they ran off into the water to join their friends.

"You not going in Evans?" James asked Lily, as they lay under the shade of the beech tree, smiling as they watched their friends play around in the water.

"I don't know, I'm so comfortable here." She said lazily.

"So, what do you think about our friends hey? We have to practically hold them off each other." He laughed quietly.

"I can see where this conversation is going James, don't go there." She said wearily.

"Well at least I know that I am making some progress." He said proudly.

"And why would you think that?" Lily asked, scared.

"You just called me by my first name! No more arrogant Potter for me!" he exclaimed. Lily laughed.

"Oh, but I always thought that that name suited you so much better." She teased.

"James is just fine." He said, smiling. Lily found herself smiling too, though she didn't know why she was letting it happen.

"No, but seriously, what do you think about Dani and Sirius? Are they going to get together?" he asked.

"They will when Dani realises that he likes her too. For now she's enjoying playing hard to get." She told James.

"But she likes Padfoot?" he said. Lily nodded. James let out a triumphant whoop, and Lily grinned.

"Shhhh, lets let them work it out for themselves, it's much more fun for us this way." She told him quietly.

"Yeah, we still get to hang out." James said.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"Well, when they break up then we will be banned from seeing each other ever again! It's law Lily." He said very matter of factly.

"Yeah, I guess, but think about it, it's our seventh year. Maybe people who get together this year wont break up." Said Lily. James looked at her.

"Yeah, I guess so. Wow, when did we get so old?" he said, sighing and looking up at the castle. " I really don't want to leave this place."

"At least you have somewhere to go from here." Lily told him. Inside she cringed. Here she was, under the same beech tree she'd yelled at him, spilling her heart out to James Potter.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean, you're a wizard. If I don't figure out what I want to do before the end of school, and get a house straight out of Hogwarts, then I'm going to have to go back to living with the muggles. I love mum and dad, but I don't think I could bare leaving magic behind for long. Every summer I need to keep my wand in my pocket, just to remind me that it wasn't all a dream." She smiled sadly, and James felt like reaching out and hugging her, though he thought that that might be pushing their newfound friendship a little too far.

"I won't let you forget it. Wont you, I don't know, get a place with your friends? That's what Sirius and Lupin and I want to do, unless we're with someone. We made that pact when we were 12. Get a little bachelor pad, right in London." He said excitedly, but fell silent at the sight of his friends in the water.

"Or, I might be the only one left." He finished with a laugh.

"What about Peter?" Lily asked with a slight chuckle in her voice. James laughed.

"Ahh, poor Peter," he said. "We do tend to leave him out, don't we? No, he doesn't seem to mind, does his own thing."

"Well Evans, just know, even if we are the only two left, I wont let you forget that you're a witch." For a moment their eyes locked, hers a startling emerald green that seemed to dance under the leaves from the beech tree, and his deep brown under his glasses, which seemed to continue forever. Lily was just about to say something, when-

"LILY'S TURN FOR A SWIM!" cried Sirius, throwing her over his shoulder and running to the water. James chased after him with a roar, which the others suspected was to be heroic, and that he was merely showing his anger that Sirius was tormenting Lily, but she smiled at Sirius's back, for she knew he was cursing his friend for ruining the moment he had just interrupted.

"Black!" he cried, diving into the water after them, and jumped on Sirius's back, rumpling his hair and ducking him under the water.

Lily, Sirius and James were now all in the water, splashing about and laughing. They had such a good time that they stayed there until the sun went down, and they only then returned inside for fear of giant squid. They emerged from the water, where the moon was reflected on the black, steely surface, and The large trees that surrounded it were beginning to look mystical, the almost full moon dancing on their branches.

"What time is it?" asked Lily, when they were out of the water, shivering.

"I think it must be around eleven! We missed dinner!" said James, through chattering teeth.

"We could go to the kitchens?" suggested Sirius. The maunders murmured with assent, however, the girls looked confused.

"How would we get to the kitchens?" asked Ella. Lupin grinned at her.

"You're forgetting who you're talking to El." He said, and they explained to her how they had found the marvellous place their first term at the school.

They now had towels wrapped tightly around them, which James had conjured up, and they all walked up to the great double doors, which led into the school.

James tried the door, and they gasped as they found their first problem. Filch had locked the doors.

"Alohamora!' said Lupin, However, the doors wouldn't budge.

"Do you know any passageways?" Lily asked the marauders. They turned white.

"None that Filch doesn't know about. The nearest one leads to Hogsmeade and we cant get there without going through the gates and all…"

James looked at Lupin. He seemed to be pleading him with his eyes. Only Lily noticed.

"No Prongs." Said Lupin shortly.

"Moony! Please! What else are we going to do? It's perfect!" James whined, under the noise of Sirius and Dani arguing the best means on how to enter the school.

"No, no it's not perfect James! How will we explain the state that it's in? Do you realise what would happen if they did find out?"

"They wouldn't find out! We could say it was-"

"Ghosts don't do that James!"

Curious though she was, Lily could see that Lupin was desperate not to give in to James, and she wanted to help him.

"Hagrid's!" she said loudly, looking at the pair. Lupin gave her a gracious look, and James looked defeated. "We can sleep at Hagrid's!"

Quiet pleased with herself as they trudged across the grounds towards their friends cabin by the edge of the forest, Lily walked ahead and left Remus and James to argue in peace.

"It would have been perfect." James continued.

"You only like it cause it has a double bed for you and Lily." Remus retorted.

"No I don't! It would have been more exciting then staying at Hagrid's though. And by the way, I don't think that you would have complained, so long as you got to share one with Ella!" Even in the dim light coming from the moon, James could see that his friend was blushing fiercely.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He insisted.

"Sure Moony, sure. Whatever you say." And with that, he headed forward to join the rest of the group, Lupin following him and shooting him looks which wished him nothing but a painful death. It wasn't long, however, until they had both gotten over their argument, and were joining in with the jokes about what they all suspected Hagrid's reaction would be when they turned up on his doorstep at this time of night.

"It's not like we haven't done it before!" said Sirius truthfully. The girls shot him confused looks.

"By we, I meant, WE." He pointed to James, Remus, and himself, and the girls looked more relaxed.

"I was going to say Black, I don't recall ever doing this before, and I don't plan on doing it again." Said Dani.

"Oh, last name Padfoot, we know what that means, don't we Lily?" said James, teasing.

"Yeah, she's mad at you Sirius, not good, seeing as Hagrid's is quite a small place once you fit Hagrid in." Lily laughed. They had reached the door.

Luckily for them the lights were still on in the little hut, and when they knocked on the door, it opened almost immediately, Hagrid standing in the doorway with his bed things on, grinning down at the students.

"What the ruddy hell had you gotten yourselves into now Pott- girls! What are you three doing here!" he laughed as he let them inside, the group explaining their predicament as the entered. Hagrid laughed.

"Seems like this is gonna be an interestin' year." He laughed, and offered them patches of floor, and got out blankets and pillows for them all.

"Now, I only got three." He told them. "Three o' everythin', though mind yer, it's my size o' everythin', so yer'ell be fine once yer work out whos with who." He laughed. "Looks like one o' you boys is gona have a good nights sleep! James, I'm gonna pull the curtain round me bed, yer might want ter' put that charm round me so yer cant hear me snore." And Hagrid went to bed, James casting the imperturbable charm around Hagrid's bed. The six of them just stood there and stared at the bedclothes.

"Well, two of us girls can share." Said Lily, picking up one blanket, which was made off heavy brown wool and looked as though Hagrid may have knitted it himself.

"Sirius and I can share," said James.

"But that leaves Lupin with one of us…" said Dani. "Shot gun not with Ella, she snores! I wont be able to sleep with her in my ear!"

"Well then I guess you can't sleep with Lupin either, he snores something horrid!" said James. Lupin and Ella looked at each other.

"You wanna?" he asked. James snorted at the irony, and Remus shot him a look.

"Sure." Said Ella.

"So that leaves us four." Said Sirius.

"I think we know where we're sleeping then." Said Dani, and she began to climb in with Lily, who had already gotten settled in, on the floor, under the knitted blanket.

"Yes Dani, I think we do!" said James, jumping in before her. Dani looked confused. Lily rolled her eyes, even though she didn't really mind anymore.

"Now we can watch…" he whispered into Lily's ear. And she realised what he had done. Dani and Sirius stood there, looking at each other with their mouths open. With James and Lily in the same bed, Dani and Sirius had only one option…

"Ok Black, you cross this line here, you are dead, you understand me?" Dani said firmly.

"Whatever my love." Sirius said sweetly. Dani scoffed, and rolled onto her back. Sirius gave James and Lily a thumbs-up, making them both laugh.

When the sound of Lupin and Ella's snores had filled the cabin and Sirius safely had his arm around Dani, without her whacking it back off, Lily rolled over to find James wide awake, and staring at the back of her head.

"I thought you were asleep." She breathed.

" I thought you were. This is pretty funny Evans, you have to admit." He whispered back. She chuckled quietly.

"What did I do wrong?" she said, "You called me Evans?"

James laughed.  
"Nothing." He grinned, "I guess we're friends now though, aren't we?"

Lily smirked, "I could never be friends with you James Potter. I have more respect for myself." He gave her a mock hurt look, and she laughed.

"Nah, you're not so bad."

"The will you-"

"No Potter!" she cut him off, giggling.

"Didn't think so," he said, "But it was worth a try."

"What were you talking about before?" Lily asked James.

"What do you mean?" he asked, though he thought that he knew, and dreaded having to answer.

"With Remus." She said, making James heart sink.

"I can't say." He said, and saw her face fall. "It's not that I don't want to. I really do, it's just, it's not mine to tell…"

"It's Remus's to tell…" she said quietly, and James cursed their foolishness.

"I've already said too much." James said sadly. He so badly wanted to tell Lily what they got up to every month; however, it was much too dangerous, for her and Remus.

"I'm really sorry." He said.

"It's fine, I understand." She said back, the shivered.

"Are you cold?" James asked her. Lily shook her head.

"Lily?"

She nodded her head, and James drew closer, and hugged her. They were very close now.

"Don't worry Evan's," he said, as they went to sleep. "I wont tell anyone that we're friends."

"Well fancy that." Said Hagrid when James opened his eyes. He had his arms wrapped tightly around Lily, in exactly the same position that he had fallen asleep in.

"Morning Hagrid." James said quietly.

"Mornin' Potter. I would ask if you slept well, but it seems almos' foolish to-"

"Shut up Hagrid. She was cold." He smirked.

"Sure Potter that's what she told you…Lily Evans and James Potter…I never would have thought…" Hagrid trailed off, and continued to sip his tea. It seemed that they were the only two awake, and James sat up at the table and joined Hagrid, pouring himself a mug of coffee.

"For you maybe Hagrid. I've given it quite a bit of thought." James said, as he watched her sleep. Hagrid grinned.

"Well I don't dislike it, I can tell yer that. You'll take care o' her yer will." He said. "Yer good kids, really."

"Thanks Hagrid, " said James with a grin. "You're not too bad yourself."

They watched as Danielle stirred, and awoke to find her arm was wrapped around Sirius, who had his back facing her. She opened her eyes quickly, and sat bolt upright, glaring at Hagrid and James, who were laughing uncontrollably.

"If you two say one word…" she threatened. The others woke up, and by the end of the hour all seven of them were sitting around the room with puffy eyes and cups of coffee.

"How are we going to get back to the dormitories?" Ella asked.

"Just what I was thinking, "said James. Remus and Sirius looked at him.

"Yeah, but six of us? I don't think that it'll work." James said, thinking of the invisibility cloak that lay in the bottom of his bag.

"I'll take the girls up, and then come back for you two." James said, and the three girls gasped as he retrieved the cloak from his bag.


	4. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs

Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs…

That night, they all sat around the fire in the Griffindore common room, a lot warmer, and a lot tireder than they had been the night before.

"Where's Remus?' asked Lily. James and Sirius suddenly looked uncomfortable.

"He's got a cold actually, he's in the hospital wing. I think it was the cold last night, er, it got to him…" James trailed off. Lily was suspicious, however, it was nothing compared to how she felt when they told Ella she shouldn't visit him.

"Er, he was sleeping when we went earlier, I don't think he'd be awake yet." Sirius said quickly.

Lily raised an eyebrow at James, but he wouldn't meet her eye.

"I think Remus has the right idea, anyway," announced James, standing from his place near the fire and glancing at Peter and Sirius. "I'm heading to bed, you coming?" they too got up quickly, and headed for their dormitory.

"I'm going to bed too." Said Dani.

"Of course you are," said Lily, " Sirius is gone!"

"Shut up Lily, I don't even know what I think of him anymore!" she whined.

"Oh come on! You've fallen hard! Don't try and tell us that you don't like him anymore!" Ella argued.

"I don't know, we know him too well now, it'd be weird! And besides, I keep saying how much I hate him! It's not like he'd ever ask me out now!" she complained. The other two laughed. "Anyway, are you two coming to bed?"

"Yeah, I'm ready to collapse." Said Ella. They looked at Lily. She was about to follow, however, something was nagging at the side of her brain, and she was dying to know what the marauders were up to.

"No, I'm just going to stay here for a bit, I'll be there in a while." And she sat by the fire while the others went up the stairs to their dormitory.

The common room was almost empty when Lily noticed anything out of the ordinary. Only two fifth years doing assignments and two first year boys playing a game of chess were left in the room, and none were alert enough to notice that a chair across the room moved ever so slightly, all by itself. It was almost, Lily thought, as though an invisible hand was nudging it. She looked just past the chair, and onto the rug that covered the ground. Sure enough, the thick fabric of the rug showed three sets of footprints. Lily stood up, and the footprints seemed to get closer together, as it moved fasted across the room.

Lily knew that the marauders must be right there, under James's invisibility cloak, and she thought for a moment about ripping it off them, and laughing at the game.

This was her chance though. She could find out where Remus was, and where they were going. They could easily make up an excuse if she caught them now.

Lily watched as the portrait opened up, and closed again. The marauders were gone.

Lily dove for the portrait hole, and followed the sound of footsteps, ducking behind coats of armour whenever she heard them stop, and slinking along in the shadows. She hated to think of what Filch would do to her if he were to find her out at this hour. But a burning curiosity was inside her and she wouldn't rest until she had gotten it out.

The sounds of footsteps led her all the way to the castle doors, which, she noted, were unlocked, something that was extremely odd. When they were out of the castle, James, Sirius and Peter appeared, throwing the cloak off of them and stuffing it in James's pocket. Lily slunk away into the shadows. She pulled her cloak closer around her. She did not think that they would lead her outside.

They walked across the grounds, Lily growing more and more curious by the minute, and when they led her to the Whomping Willow tree that stood on the gourds she told herself, that if nothing happened, she would just turn back.

However, something did happen. The Marauders stopped before the thrashing tree, and Peter stepped forward.

Lily had to cover her mouth to stop from yelling out loud. Peter was shrinking at an alarming rate, and in seconds he was nothing but a rat, scuttling on the ground.

The rat darted froward, under the trees thrashing branches and the next moment, the tree had frozen, and the rat had vanished. Lily couldn't stand it anymore. She had to know what was below the tree.

Taking the chance while Sirius and James were whispering together, Lily ran forward from the other side of the tree and found the hole that Peter had disappeared down. A black staircase could be seen, and after that…nothing. Lily took the chance while she could, and ran down the tunnel. Peter must be miles ahead by now-she thought, and ran quicker than ever.

Lily had just reached a staircase, which she suspected must lead to their destination, when she heard it. A roar, like a person in agony, though it had a growl-like quality to it that sent shivers up and down her spine. Someone was in trouble. Lily put one trembling foot over the next, and ran up the stairs. When she emerged at he top of the staircase, Lily saw an image she had only ever seen in books.

A massive, wolf-like creature was thrashing around in the room, the short fur that covered its body longer at the top, and a tufted tail producing from it's back. The werewolf reared, and turned around to face Lily, ignoring the rat that sped around its heels. It's sharp claws bared, Lily looking into the beast-taunted eyes, and, in an instant, understood.

As fierce as the body of the creature was, as deplorable the appearance, and, as menacing the face as it reared down and struck her leg with it's razor like claws, the eyes of the beast were not as fearsome as the rest of the creature.

The eyes, that Lily recognised the moment she saw them, were still those of Remus Lupin, apologising to her ceaselessly, yet silently.

Lily let a scream escape her as she felt the flesh of her left leg tear open, and she scrambled back, the werewolf advancing on her helpless figure, until a stag came galloping into the room.

It dove in front of Lily, and threw Remus back with its prongs, sending the wolf toppling onto the four-poster bed that lay in the corner. A large, black dog also came bounding into the room, it's padded feet pounding the dusty floorboards as it leapt off the floor and launched itself onto the werewolf's back. Lily sat in the corner, trembling. These animals were going to hurt Remus…all because her stupid curiosity had gotten the better of her.

"STOP IT!" she yelled, tears pouring down her face, which was flecked with blood. The stag drew closer still to the bed.

"NO! STOP HURTING HIM!" she yelled, cursing herself. How were animal's meant to understand her? Lily hoisted herself onto her good leg, and limped across the room, throwing herself at the stag as it stooped its head, readying it's to hold Lupin down.

The stag stopped, feeling Lily grab onto it, and turned its head to face the girl who was on its back.

"STOP HURTING HIM NOW!" she roared, louder than ever. Everything in the room seemed to stop. The big black dog stopped pawing Remus, and turned its shaggy head to face Lily. Even the rat, scurrying around on the floor turned its head up to look at her. She started at their reaction. "HE DOESN"T KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING!" she cried, and collapsed onto the ground, her bad leg giving way. She couldn't stop them anymore. Lupin was going to die and it was all her fault. They had him cornered.

James stopped when he noticed that Lily was holding onto his back. He had thought that she was worried for the stag's life, screaming for the werewolf to stop, but here she was, defending the creature that had just torn her leg open…

Lily felt something soft brush against her cheek. The stag's front knee was bent, and it had levelled its head with her. She looked into its eyes and gasped. She knew those eyes…they were…

Suddenly it all made sense, and James lowered his hind legs to allow Lily to climb on Sirius leapt off Remus's back, and pounded out the door, Prongs and Lily quick after him. Lupin lay, exhausted, on the bed, and did not follow. Peter, predictably, was first out the door.

When the tunnel narrowed James and Sirius transformed back, and they stopped, looking at each other, before facing Lily.

"Listen, what happened back there…" James started softly.

"I wont tell a soul." She said in reply. James smiled at her, and lifted her up.

"You cant carry me still! I'll walk, I'm fine." She said weakly.

"You cant! It's all my fault, I should have told you, then you wouldn't have followed…" James said. Lily put a hand on both boys' shoulders, and looked them in the eye.

"Listen. This is no one's. _No ones. _Fault." She said, glancing back the way they had come. Sirius and James smiled at her genuinely, knowing how much it would mean to Lupin that she didn't care about, as James liked to call it, his fury little problem.

"Now, can you help me walk?" she put her arms around their shoulders and limped on.

"So, when did you three learn how to do that?" she asked as they walked.

"Fifth year. We can keep him company as animals, you know. Tonight wasn't one of his best nights." James told her. Sirius snorted.

"Ok you two, you're marauders, you can help me." She said promptly. They looked at her inquisitively.

"With what good lady?" asked Sirius mockingly.

"I need a good, ready made excuse! Why am I returning to the dormitory at 2 in the morning covered in blood with a great gash on my leg?" she said, laughing slightly.

"Um…family emergency?" Sirius suggested. They glared at him, and he grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry, it just reminded me of how my family emergencies used to go down…" he said.

"Who said anything about going back to your dormitory anyway?" James said. "We have other plans, don't we Sirius?" Sirius looked blank, and Lily vaguely registered that they had stopped walking, even though, to her, this looked just like every other patch of wall had done.

"This is a little something of our own creation Lily…" James begun, turning to the bit of wall next to him.

"It's the only passage way that we have actually created ourselves." Sirius added, catching on to what James was talking about.

"You should feel really privileged that we're showing it to you, we don't want to know what would happen if anyone found out we had such a clear route into Hogsmeade." James added.

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs." He whispered to the wall. Lily stared at him blankly for a moment, thinking that he was faking, but moment later, the wall split open, and revealed a long passageway, which faded quickly into darkness. Sirius had the tip of his wand lit, and shone it down the passage. James turned to Lily.

"Listen, it's much narrower down here. Please, just let me carry you. Or Sirius even, just don't walk on that leg." He said. Lily relented at last, and allowed herself to be lifted up in James' strong arms.

The three of them walked in darkness for about an hour before the floor began to rise. It sloped upwards, and Lily could see that the path was beginning to get lighter. They came out at a shrub, where light was filtering through the thin foliage, and Sirius looked out first, to make sure that the coast was clear, before hoisting himself out of the hole and onto the ground.

"Where are we going to go no?" asked Lily, who was getting very tired, and the pain in her leg was throbbing horribly. James noted the pain in her voice, and held onto her even tighter.

"Cassandra's?" James asked Sirius delicately. Sirius nodded.

"She never asks too many questions, best not ask Rosmerta, her and Dumbledore talk a bit, Cass is a lot safer."

Lily didn't have a clue who they were talking about, but they didn't sound panicked, so she knew that she shouldn't be worried. James would do the right thing for her; she just had to trust him.


	5. the meeting

The meeting

" James, you can put me down now, it's fine, and you must be so tired!" Lily complained from his arms.

"No Lily, you aren't walking. I'm fine, you're as light as a feather!" James replied. Sirius was leading the way down a side street in the village, and walked all the way to a tiny little cottage at the end of a cold-de-sack.

"Ok, I've held back from asking this until now, but-where the hell are we?" asked Lily, not liking the gloominess of the neighbourhood.

"Cassandra Blakehurst. Don't worry Lily, she'll love you. And she'll be able to help your leg too. She's a retired healer." James explained, and Lily relaxed a little. The pain in her leg was becoming unbearable, but it was comforting to know that she wouldn't have to put up with it for much longer. Just the thought of it seemed to ease the pain slightly.

James carried Lily up to Cassandra's doorstep, and Sirius rung the great bell that hung over her doorframe.

Lily noted that the windows were lit up, despite the late hour. She let her head drop onto James shoulder, making him smile, though his grin was invisible to her.

They could hear footsteps behind the door, before it opened a crack, and two beady brown eyes peered out at them.

"What did you boys do this time?"" asked Cassandra wearily, smiling as she slid back the chain and let the three walk into the room.

The living room was small, and cosy, with warm looking armchairs sitting around a small fire place, covered in crochet and embroidery that the old lady had undoubtedly done herself. There was a whole wall lined with books, and another, Lily noticed, which was filled to the roof with shelves full of magical instruments and gadgets, which she would love to run and inspect, but for the throbbing pain in her leg. James lowered her into the largest armchair by the fire, taking care of her leg and raising it onto the arm of the chair. Lily smiled, and thanked him.

Sirius was by the door, explaining to Cassandra what had happened.

"Oh dear." She said, looking at Lily, "Oh well, I'd say that it twinges a bit, but nothing that I cant fix." Cassandra went over to where Lily lay, and introduced herself.

"You're a pretty young thing, aren't you?" she said, "My name is Cassandra, but you can call me Cass if you like." She turned to the boys. "I expect young Remus will wallow in guilt for months over this one." She said to them regretfully. Lily started.

"What? I mean, do you…how do you…" she trailed off.

"My dear, I am Remus's grandmother." She explained. "These kids," she gestured to James and Sirius, "Come to me crying every time they get themselves caught in a right flap! They can't very well go marching up to the school with great gashes made by a werewolf, can they? People would ask nasty questions. No, It's much better this way." She took out her wand, and raised it over Lily's leg, muttering something under her breath. Lily couldn't bear to watch. When she did open her eyes, she saw that the wounds seemed to have healed, and the only trace of the gashes was that the skin was redder and tighter. James came to stand beside her, when Cass had finished, and eyes Lily's leg anxiously.

"How does it feel?" he asked, unable to keep the worry from his voice.

"Fine." Answered Lily with a small grin.

"You better not have doubted me Potter! When have I ever failed!" Cassandra teased, and went to a cupboard on the opposite side of the room, grinning warmly.

"I think you'll be wanting to clean up, by the looks of you." Said Cass, emerging with three towels, all of which were pink and fluffy, much to the boy's disgust.

"Just what I was thinking Cass!" said James jokingly, winking at Lily.

"In your dreams Potter." Said Lily and Cass at the same time, making James go red and Sirius laugh.

Lily got up from the armchair wearily, and noticed that she still had a slight limp, her leg feeling stiff and a little sore, but she ignored it. Compared to what she had felt earlier this was heaven.

After a shower Lily was shown to their room, a very floral guest room with four single beds lined up in a row.

"Three guesses who normally stays in here." Whispered Cass to Lily, smiling "Or should I say four?" and she gestured for Lily to pick a bed. Lily threw her clothes down on the middle bed (she was now dressed in one of Cass's nightgowns,).

"Uh, I think that James would be extremely happy if you chose that bed," Cassandra smirked, and Lily blushed, quickly moving her things from James bed to the one furthest on the right.

"Ah, oh well, at least you're next to the kid!" laughed the old lady, 'Goodnight Lily," she said, "You're a good kid, the boys told me what you did tonight." She smiled at her warmly, her face crinkling at the corners of her eyes. "Remus is lucky to have friends like you." She chuckled to herself. "And James is lucky full stop." Lily blushed.

"Um, James and I, we aren't…I mean, we're not…" Cassandra laughed again.

"Oh, I know dear. These things take time." And before Lily could argue back, she kissed the girl on the forehead and left the room.

James came in next, and smiled when he saw Lily already in bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her, sitting on the edge of her bed.

"I'm fine." She said quietly, "He's not though, is he?" she asked.

James looked at her inquisitively.

"Remus. I can't stand knowing that he has to go through that every month." She said.

"I know. Me neither, but there's nothing that we can do. I can stand it either, but believe me Lily, I've tried." He sighed. Lily sat up a little.

"Is that why he wont ask Ella out, he knows that he'll have to tell her?" she asked quietly. James thought for a moment.

"I guess so. He never really likes to get close to anyone that doesn't know. He's scared he'll hurt them, or they'll hurt him…"

"What do you mean?" Lily asked

"I mean, what if he gets close to someone and then they find out and hate him? He can't stand it." James explained. Lily was growing quite depressed, and felt helpless. She hated feeling like that, there way always something she could do, but to this she was powerless.

"James, I found something that…" she trailed off, "Never mind."

"No, what was it?" he asked. Lily shook her head.  
"Don't worry, It's probably not even true, a myth, it doesn't matter." She said James stared her in the eye.

"Lily, I promise, if I think that it's stupid, then I will tell you immediately." He said.

"It's just, I read somewhere…or heard somewhere…It might have even been a dream…anyway, I know it, for some reason, It's here, in my brain, and I cant help but think that it's true…" she said.

"That what's true?" James asked, his eyes darting to the door, his voice barely a whisper.

"There's a legend…of a stone, called the bloodstone. Apparently it's meant to cleanse you of any

If we can find this, then there's a potion. All the ingredients are really rare, but if we can find the stone then I think it could work. James, he wouldn't be a werewolf anymore!" Lily finished. James' eyes were wide, and he stared at Lily for a long time, before the silence was broken by Sirius storming into the room.

"I can't believe that I am wearing a dress! If one of you tells anybody about this then I will personally-"

"Deal with it Black! Or else next time James transfigure you into a bunny I wont turn you back!" came Cassandra's voice from the other room. Lily and James snorted with laughter, and Sirius turned a deep shade of red.

"Thanks for mentioning that Cass!" Sirius yelled back.

"Yes! Literally, THANKYOU!" cried James through fits of laughter, clutching his side, the memory of Sirius as a rabbit floating in his mind.

Sirius turned off the lights in a huff, and threw the covers over his head, snoring a little too loud to be entirely plausible. James stopped laughing, and Lily felt him come closer in the darkness. He was still on the bed.

"I've heard of it too." He breathed. "I don't know how, I just do. It's like it's always been there, I just haven't noticed it before…" Lily gasped.

"We'll find it. We can do it, together." James whispered in her ear.

"Thanks for everything James." Lily whispered back, and he leant forward, unknown to Lily, and she felt his lips lightly touch her forehead.

"I'm sorry about tonight. Sweet dreams." He replied, and crept back over to his own bed.

Lily rolled onto her stomach, and smiled into her pillow. He really was very sweet…

Meanwhile, the sun was rising over Hogwarts, and the shrieking shack seemed peaceful to the occupants of Hogsmeade. Inside, however, was another story. Remus Lupin was sitting on the bed, his head in his bloodstained hand, tears rolling down his face. He hated himself. He almost killed Lily last night. And he knew that James would probably never forgive him. Even if he did, Lupin knew that he would never forgive himself. He couldn't walk back into that castle. Everyone could know by now anyway. The cuts on Lily's leg wouldn't have been easy to explain away….

James, Lily and Sirius slept until midday, when they were woken by Cassandra, who pulled back the curtains in their room and let sunlight flood in and fill their sleeping quarters.

"Wakeup all you! I would say good morning to you all, though that would be a little belated. They opened their eyes groggily.

"Whattimezit?" moaned Lily.

"Midday." She replied, and Lily sat bolt upright in bed.

"What? It's Monday morning! We've missed all our morning classes already!" she shrieked.

"Ok, now I think we are officially awake, " said Sirius, rubbing his ears teasingly.

"Lily, by the looks of it, we'll miss our afternoon classes as well, so will you calm down, and get ready to pretend that you are sick?" said James, exasperated, yet reluctant to be irritable towards Lily.

"Ok, sorry, it was just a shock, that's all," she said, relaxing in her bed. "Let's get up! Come on! Hogsmeade is our oyster!" she said, excited at the possibilities she was now faced with. The boys laughed.

"Now you're thinking! What do you say Cass? You want to come to the three broomsticks for lunch? My shout?" asked James. Cass shook her head.

"I think I'll stay here Potter, I never go to that place if I can help it." She said, "I prefer the Hogs Head myself, I little risky to attempt it alone, by I like the bartender…" Cass giggled very uncharacteristically; making James, Sirius and Lily exchanged disgusted looks.

"But you three feel free to go." She said, noticing the awkwardness of the situation. "Mind James does pay for your drinks Lily! Pity Sirius has to tag along…."

"Cass…" James warned.

"Joking! Joking! You kids have fun! I'll see you this afternoon." And they got dressed and left.

James, Sirius and Lily walked down the main street of Hogsmeade. They were laughing and joking, until they saw the Three Broomsticks in the distance. Or more the people entering the Three Broomsticks.

Dumbledore's long white hair shimmered in the sunlight, and McGonagal walked along side him. They entered the pub talking merrily, and the students' heart sank. They couldn't be found in Hogsmeade on a Monday.

" The Hogshead then?" said Sirius quietly.

"No, I don't think so." Whispered James and he groped in his pocket, drawing out his invisibility cloak.

"It's Monday afternoon, we have transfiguration now, don't we?" James asked. Lily nodded.

"Then what is so important that McGonagal skips class?" he asked, before throwing the cloak over them all, and starting towards the pub.

"James! I don't think this is a good idea." Hissed Lily, "What if we get caught!"

"Shhh, relax, no one can see us! We wont, trust me! I won't let anything happen to you!" Lily sighed and hurried to keep up with the boys, reluctant, through the curiosity, which had gotten her into so much trouble the previous night.

They slipped through the door, and found that the pub had a closed sign on the door, despite the fact that it was packed with people. And a lot of the people, Lily noted, while she hid behind a large pot plant, were fairly prestigious.

Apart from McGonagal, Hagrid and Dumbledore, Lily saw many people from the ministry crowded into the pub, heads of departments who were often seen in the prophet, and the barman from the hogshead was even present eyeing the warm bar and the fireplace with it's merrily dancing flames with distain, scolding at their surroundings.

Lily desperately wanted to know what was going on, but James and Sirius's faces told her that they didn't know anymore than she did, and so she sat in silence and watched as a person who was certainly important rose to a platform that had been conjured at the head of the congregation, and cleared their throat.

"Greetings! You are most probably wondering why I have asked you all here today!" said the minister for Magic, smirking grimly at the mass of people in front of him. Lily gasped, and James covered her mouth with his hand. She cursed herself for being the first to make a noise, however, she had been severely shocked by the scale of the meeting that they had stumbled into. She was somewhat scared as to what they would hear.

The crowd, they noted, also looked grim, and Dumbledore and McGonagal were certainly not smiling as merrily as they had been when they had entered the pub moments before. They looked as tired and old as ever, and Dumbledore looked darkly at the man standing up the front.

"Not at all minister, I think that the majority of these clever peopler have every idea of why we are here today. Now would you kindly inform us as to what Lord Voldermort has done this time…" there was a pause in which the gathering seemed to gasp or shriek, and even Lily's breath caught in her throat. They definitely shouldn't be here…

"And what is the Ministry going to do this time? Have you got us all here to inform us of a daring plan, or are we merely going to be traditional and cross our fingers and hope for the best?"

"Go Dumbledore." Breathed James, and Sirius and Lily smiled nervously.

"Well…" the minister said, flustered, shaking his noted briskly in his hands, "Yes Dumbledore, you know that I always value your opinion. Though you cant deny that the ministry has been doing everything in their power to stop He-who-must-not-be-named. The entire Ministry has been out looking for-"

"And yet you think that's wise?" said Dumbledore, rising to his feet and raising his voice. It wasn't, however, necessary. He had the room so entranced that he could have whispered and it would not have mattered.

"You think it wise to let Voldermort stop the wizarding community running the way that it should? He has barely begun, Minister, and yet we are already forced to compromise the regular workings of our lives to compensate for his tyranny! It is not right minister, not right at all. Regular workers aren't going to stumble across Voldermort while they are walking down the street. He won't be found unless he wants to be, and I don't see that happening anytime soon. We need to think, and find his weaknesses, before he can be defeated-"

"That is all very well and good Dumbledore, but the trouble is, we don't know his weaknesses, and he is growing stronger, and gathering more and more supporters as we speak." The minister explained, wearily.

"So what has brought this on minister?" asked a squat woman with curly brown hair and sickly sweet voice in the front row. Even though she could only see the back of the woman's head, Lily disliked her, the superior way that she sat, right down to the fluffy pink Alice band that she wore atop her ringlets.

"Dolores, we have received word from one of the spy that we have placed within Voldermort's ranks that he is seeking something called the heliotrope to aid him in his work. We have little idea as to what this is, however, if Voldermort is searching for it then it cant be good. If anyone has any information about this, we beg him or her to come forward.

"Also," the minister exhaled loudly, making everyone nervous. This seemed the reason as to why they were here, " There is a new curse, we suspect that it has been invented by You-Know-Who himself, and it is far worse than anything you can ever imagine."

"Worse than…" a voice in the crowd began to speak, though they quickly trailed off into nothing. They didn't need to finish the sentence. Everyone in the room knew what they had meant to say.

What could be worse than Avada Kedavera? - Thought all three of the friends hunched underneath the invisibility cloak, as they exchanged worried looks.

"In some ways." The minister replied to their unfinished question. "We have called it the Imperious curse." The minister cringed at the name, almost as harsh as the cringe he had given that of Voldermort, and the crowd seemed to hold it's breath.

"When cast right, it gives the caster complete control of the victim. They can make them do anything, and only fierce mind power, simular to that which repels Legilimens can throw the curse." He announced. Even Dumbledore froze.

He had been hearing rumours of the Imperious curse for a while now, however, he had not been able to find the cause.

"Voldermort can control anyone he wishes, and they can report back to him. Anyone at the ministry, in your own home, even…" he paused, and scanned the area, sadly, "Even this room, could be under the curse."

"We have marked it as an unforgivable curse, which brings their number up to three. I have signed a bill this morning, allowing the aurors to use these curses on any death eaters who put up a fight." He finished. A growl of a voice came from somewhere to James and Lily's right, making them jump. A man had slipped in the door and was standing on the other side of the plant, listening to the meeting.

"And you think that wise?" said the auror, his wooden leg thumping on the polished floorboards as he clunked into the ministers view.

"Yes Moody, I do." Said the Minister. Mad Eye narrowed his eyes.

"And what if we're wrong?" he growled back, "What if we've captured the wrong bloke and he dies for nothing! What if the poor fella was under the curse himself!"

"The it is unfortunate Mad-Eye, however, we cant be taking any chances! I would much rather take the risk than risk even more mass killing by the ones that we rightfully capture!" The minister argued, "These are dark times Alastor! I am merely doing what I believe right, and you must do what you do, however, if a death eater walks free because you refuse to follow my laws, then on you own conscious be it!" declared the minister. Moody slunk back into the shadows, and Lily noticed him exchange darkly significant looks with Dumbledore.

"Minister?" came a voice from behind the bar, and they saw Rosmerta, the young, blond bar maid, was speaking nervously. "May I ask…what exactly does he hope to achieve? You-Know-Who?"

She wished that she hadn't asked, as every eye in the room turned her way, and watched her reaction as the minister spoke.

James found Lily's hand with his, and squeezed it. Lily didn't pull away. James knew what was coming.

"In the long term, we have received information that he is determined to achieve what he calls the 'purification' of the wizarding race, or, in short, the murders of all muggleborn, and conquering death. All the murders have either been of muggleborn witches and wizards or, we expect, those who have somehow wronged him," he explained. James's grasp on Lily's hand was unbearably tight now, and she was gripping his just as firm.

"And now, I hope you all understand, but I have to leave you all, and I suggest you do the same, though sparingly. We don't want anyone to be overly suspicious of our meeting here today, and we don't want to cause Rosmerta any trouble."

And the minister walked briskly off the podium he had been perched on and walked briskly out of the door, the toad like woman Lily had spied earlier following him closely.

Lily, James and Sirius slipped out the door after them, James not letting go of Lily's hand, and Sirius walking quickly behind them.


	6. a hooded figure

A hooded figure…

Sirius, James and Lily hurried towards the Hogshead, and only took the cloak off once they were safely inside.

James finally released his grasp, and went to order butterbeers for them all, while Lily and Sirius took a seat at table in the corner. The barman had apparated back to his place behind his own cold stone bar and was grumpily wiping glasses. He was a tall man with dirty grey hair and dark robes, which were grubby, and covered in white hair, which seemed to have rubbed off a cat or other animal.

"Well, that was certainly a surprise." Said Sirius, breaking the silence.

"Mmmm." Said Lily. Her eyes were wide, and she had a worried crease between her eyebrows. James came and brought them their drinks, before taking a seat himself.

"Sorry I didn't get any food, I'm not so hungry anymore, but if you two want…" James trailed off, as the looks on his friends' faces was enough to tell him that they were definitely not hungry.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"I wish that I knew where I've heard that before…" said Lily, her tormented features staring into the depths of her butterbeer.

"Heard what?" asked Sirius.

"Heliotrope." She muttered.

"I know, I have too, I just can't remember where…" said James. Sirius said nothing. The pub was deserted, and so the three discussed the contents of the meeting openly, though making sure that they were out of earshot of the barman. They jumped, therefore, when the door swung open.

A man with long dark, shabby robes and a hood over his head entered the pub. He was a little shorter than James, by sight, and, though his face was shrouded in darkness, there was something about him that was familiar to the friends, and they couldn't help but stare as he approached the bar and asked for a room.

"Where have I heard that voice before?" asked Lily quietly.

Noticing them for the first time, the figure turned around quickly, and jumped when he saw them in the corner, before turning quickly to the bartender again.

The man handed the stranger keys, and showed him the stairs, and he disappeared up the stairway, with one quick glance back at the three in the corner.

"I know that guy from somewhere! I swear I've heard that voice!" said James, and the others agreed.

"Maybe they're from school? Or maybe they were at the meeting?" suggested Sirius.

On the whole, they decided that they had better head back to school, and after a quick stop back at Cassandra's they headed back down the passageway and back to Hogwarts.

"Where on EARTH have you been!" screamed Danielle when they arrived that afternoon, clambering into the common room. She looked at Sirius when she spoke, though it was Lily who answered.

"Shhh, keep it down Dani! I caught these two sneaking off to Hogsmeade last night and I tagged along! We've been hanging out there all day! Sorry guys, I didn't want to worry you." Lily said, the excuse ready made in her mind. Peter gave them a fleeting glance, but they silenced him with a look.

"So what do you three want to do tonight?" asked Erica.

"Actually, I'm pretty tired, I think I'll go to bed." Said Lily, and said goodnight to the boys. James gave her a hug, and whispered so that no one else could hear.

"Don't worry Lily, we're safe at Hogwarts."

Lily smiled at him, and started up the stairs, the other girls hot in pursuit.

"So, was Remus with you Lily? I haven't seen him, and he wasn't in the hospital wing, I had to take Erin Michelle up there to get her knee fixed, and he wasn't anywhere, we thought he must be with you guys." Lily paused for a moment.

"No, he wasn't with us…wasn't he in class this afternoon?" they shook their heads, and Lily quickly changed the subject.

"So, what happened here while I was gone? Anything exciting?" she asked, they shook their heads.

"Don't worry about that! You've been off with the marauders! Pity Sirius was there, you and James could have had a great night away…" Lily hit her over the back of the head, and they got into their dormitory and sat on their beds.

"Shut up Dani!" she said

"More like pity you weren't there Dan, could have had a double date!" smirked Ella.

"Ohhh, you are going to wish that you had never finished that sentence!" said Lily, and she suddenly felt filled with life, as she grabbed a pillow behind her back.

"Why?" Ella teased, "What are you going to do?"

"THIS!" Lily yelled, and threw the pillow across the room, where it hit Ella square in the face. Her scream was muffled, and she stood on her bed, brandishing the cushion over her head and leaping at Lily, and pounding her with the pink pillow. Dani was unable to pass up the chance to make so much noise, and quickly donned her own pillow, throttling Lily with it, and screaming at the top of her lungs, a wordless bellow.

"But seriously Lily," said Ella when they had gotten tired of the pillow fight, and where all lying on Lily's bed, staring up at the ceiling, "What do you think of James?" Lily blushed, and stuck her pillow over her face, squealing.

"I think we'll take that as a good answer, don't you think Dani?" said Ella, laughing. Dani pried the cushion from her face and looked at her grin.

"Yep Ella, I think that is definitely a good answer."

"I think we have her converted! The marauders do make good-" Ella stopped talking and the other two sat up quickly, Lily ceasing her squeal to stare at Ella excitedly.

"You do! You like Remus!" she screamed.

"I never said…"

"Yes you did! You were going to say the marauders make good-"

"Friends!" finished Ella, incorrectly, going red herself.

"MORE THAN FRIENDS ELLA!" Dani roared, laughing all the while, " don't worry, we already knew! It's just nice to have these things confirmed, that's all."

"Well I didn't confirm anything!" Ella retorted.

"Sure El, Whatever you say, we know that you love him!" Ella hit them with a pillow again.

"Ok, ok, guys, if you're going to do this then can we not on my bed? I really am going to sleep now…" Lily said.

"Yeah, sorry, we shouldn't delay you're dreaming about Jame-"

"SERIOUSLY!"

"Ok, ok, we're gone Lily, see you in the morning." They went back to their own beds, and Lily grinned into her pillow, which was, admittedly, a little thinner than it had been at the beginning of the night. However, her grin disappeared quickly when she remembered the events of the previous night, and day.

Where was Lupin? What was the cure, and where had she heard it before? Who was the hooded man in the Hogshead, What was the heliotrope, and what on earth could Voldermort do next?

When she woke the next morning, Lily was filled with dread when she thought of facing the teachers with excuses for yesterday's absence. She also feared what would happen if Remus still wasn't at breakfast. She was already scared for where he was.

Her fears were confirmed when she went down to breakfast and found the marauders, minus one. James saw her face fall as she scanned the table.

"I'm sure he's fine." He whispered in her ear as she sat down next to him. She nodded.

"What have we got first?" Ella asked Danielle, and she thought for a moment.

"Mondays? Divination!" she said, excited. Their teacher was a kind old woman, and though she was going slightly senile, the girls enjoyed the lessons they spent in her stuffy little room at the top of the north tower.

Lily, on the other hand, thought that the subject was rubbish, though she didn't like to mention this to her friends. She had made that mistake once, and they had not taken it well. And so it was that Sirius, James and Lily headed down to Care of Magical Creatures by themselves, and found Professor Kettleby smiling at them all as they arrived.

Severus Snape, a Slytherin boy who James particularly loathed on principal was the only other student there already, and Hagrid was absent today. It obviously wasn't going to be a dangerous enough lesson for him.

"Hello Potter, "said Snape, his voice filled with malice, and hatred, as he looked James Potter up and down, "Black." He also scanned Sirius. To Lily, he paid no attention, until James drew his wand.

"What are you doing Potter?' he sneered, as the Professor fiddled with something in a box a while away, preparing for the lesson. "You wouldn't dare curse me in front of your little mudblood friend. You know that she can't stand you, though she does seem to be increasingly stupid this year, doesn't she?"

James stepped forward, and stood in front of Lily, his wand pointed at Snapes chest.

"Don't," he began, breathing heavily, "Call-her-a-mudblood. You filthy little death eater." Lily gasped from behind him, and Snape merely sneered.

"You shouldn't make accusations like that Potter," Snape said, "You don't know what trouble it could get you into."

"I think I know Snape, and I think that I don't care."

"Well you want to know what I think?" Snape continued, as their classmates joined them at the edge of the forest.

"Not really Snivellus, I don't think that we do." Said Sirius. Snape ignored him.

"I think that you're too arrogant for you own goo-"

"Ok!" said Professor Kettleby from the front of the class, and they were forced, much to Lily's relief, to cease the argument while the professor talked about Thestrals.

"I hate him." Puffed James as they left the lesson and headed back to the castle.

"Seriously, I mean it! If he calls you a-"

"Don't James. It's not worth it." Said Lily quietly. Privately, she was worried. If the rumours were true, and Snape really was in contact with Voldermort, then she and James were in trouble. If he really was a Death Eater then there was no knowing what he could do…  
The purification of the wizarding race…the words rang in Lily's head, and she tried to shake them out frantically, all day, but they still hung in her head, like a great, black cloud, fogging her thoughts.


	7. Chestervalle

Chestervalle

"James, Sirius," said Lily, when they were all talking in the common room that night. Danielle and Ella were discussing something which, by the sound of their raucous laughter, they found extremely funny, so Lily took the chance to talk to they marauders about something she was burning to ask.

"What are we going to do?" she asked desperately, a pleading look in her eye. They knew, of course, what she was talking about. The excuse that Lupin was off visiting his ill grandmother would only last for so long. It wouldn't be long before it reached the ears of Dumbledore, and he and Cassandra were old friends, he would know if she were sick.

"I don't know, We have no idea where he is." They said quietly. Lily's heart sank through the floor.

"None at all?" she asked, then decided to tell them what she had realised last night.

"None at all." James replied sadly. "What?" he added, seeing the look on her face.

"Well, it's just that…I don't know, I could be wrong…I hope that I'm wrong…" she trailed off.

"What is it?" asked Sirius, throwing an anxious glance towards the other girls.

"That man, in the Hogs Head, I think I know where we knew his voice from…"

A look of dawning spread across Sirius and James face, and their eyes grew wide.

"At least we know where he is then!" said James, leaning back in his armchair. Lily shook her head sadly.

"I don't think so. Didn't you hear him telling the barman? He said he was only staying a night, and then he was leaving."

"Where too?" asked Sirius.

"Chestervalle." She replied, her voice filled with dread. Suddenly it all made sense.

"Chestervalle? But isn't that…" Sirius and James suddenly looked panicked, Lily horribly upset. Chestervalle wasn't far away. That wasn't even a problem, seeing as all of them could appearate, however, not many people wanted to go there.

When a human became a werewolf, they were normally shunned by society, As far as anyone knew, Remus was the first one ever to attend Hogwarts. Chestervalle was mainly full of caves and allys, where they met, and lived, and bred. They considered themselves so far less than other humans that they separated themselves from society, to protect others, or, as James had put it, to protect themselves.

At the moment, Lily didn't care about herself. All she cared about was getting Remus out of there. It was, in her opinion, her fault that he felt bad enough to go there anyway, and her responsibility to get him back.

"James, I need your cloak and broom." She said, determination set in her eyes. James and Sirius stared at her.

"Sure." Said James sarcastically. "Why?"

"You know why, now get them for me or I'll hex you!" she said, a standing and drawing her wand.

" Ok Lily, I think that you've gone a little crazy. You can't go there!" the girls had stopped laughing now, and were watching the conversation intently. Sirius's mouth had dropped open in amazement.

"He's right Lily. Put the wand down." He added.

"No Sirius! It's my fault he's there! I'm the only one who can bring him back, you know that!" she said. Sirius bowed his head.

"Padfoot, don't you dare bail on me! Back me up!" said James.

"Look at her mate!" Sirius said, defeated. "You know she won't give this a rest."

"I don't care! She can't go!" James said, and before he could protest any more, Lily ducked past him, and ran up to his dormitory.

"OI!" cried James, and chased after her. He was too late. Lily stood by his window, His cloak wrapped round all but her head, his broom in her hand. Peter sat on the bed, eating chocolate frogs and staring at Lily in amazement and confusion.

"Lily! You cant!" James cried in desperation, chasing her over to where she stood, so that Peter couldn't hear.

"Yes, I can." She said, staring him back in the eyes, stubborn as an angry hippogriff.

"Give me the broom Lily." He said firmly, his voice shaking.

"No."

"Please, just give me the broom." He repeated. Lily saw the anger in his eyes, but there was something else there too, was it fear? Slowly she handed over James broomstick into the hands of its grateful owner, however…

"Get on the back." James said regretfully, having mounted the broomstick and stood next to the window. Lily beamed at him.

Throwing the cloak over them, James pushed off the ground and they soared out the window and over the Hogwarts grounds. Hagrid could be seen stoking a fire outside his cabin, admittedly larger than an ant, but everything else was fading away into the distance.

"Lily, do you actually know what we're going to do once we get there?" James asked over his shoulder. Lily shook her head.

"All I cared about was getting there." She replied, wrapping her arms tighter around his waist. "And finding him." She added quietly.

James knew what Lily was scared off. There were terrible stories that came out of Chestervalle. There weren't actually any witches and wizards left in the area. But when there were no humans in the town left for them to attack at a full moon, they turned on each other, and fed on their friends.

The people of Chestervalle feel so horrible about themselves, even when they are in human form, that they attack even when it's not a full moon, and Lily only hoped that they could get to their friend in time.

Urging the broom faster at the thought of Remus, James felt Lily's arms around him and smiled. He was glad, in a way, that it was her with him. Sirius was always great to hang out with, but he liked Lily in a way that he couldn't explain, and the thought that she was there, holding onto him for support was greater than anything he could have ever imagined.

Night fell around them, and they were swallowed up in darkness, which seemed to reflect their mood, as they became closer and closer to the place they knew they must land.

They had no idea, no plan in their heads as to how they were going to find Remus, let alone convince him to come back to Hogwarts…. And that was all if they could avoid the rest of the murderous werewolves that inhabited the area.

James saw lights beneath them, and knew that this must be it. There had been no other houses for miles, and they were deep into the mountains, far from any other civilisation. They had reached Chestervalle.

"Ready?" he asked Lily quietly, turning to look at her as he hovered in the air. Lily nodded, and he dropped the nose of the broom and sent them soaring down to the cluster of lights.

They seemed to grow in size, and swell before them, as they came nearer and nearer to the ground, and when James landed it smoothly on a dank piece of grass, Lily and he slid off the broom gracefully, shivering with the cold and the fear of what they were to do. Because truth be told, they had no idea what that was.

"What do we do now?" Lily asked James, feeling for his hand in the dim light.

"I have no idea. He cant be in a cave to himself yet, or a house. He only got here a day or so ago, there has to be a place where they stay, a hostel or an inn or something…" he trailed off, and Lily scanned the area. There was no sign of life anywhere. In the rock surfaces of the cliffs that scaled the mountains caves had been cut out, and lights could be seen from within, dim, dust filed light, that filtered through the area like the soft glow of the moon. The thought sent shivers up and down Lily's spine.

Hand in hand, Lily and James walked along the street, which was edged with old houses, the remains of human habitation, and probably the residents of which were bitten right in their homes. Every so often there was a run down shop, or a broken phone booth, but on the whole the entire town seemed dank and dingy. Lily didn't like it at all.

There was graffiti on the walls too; James noticed it first. What they had thought to be a drawing, or initial was actually a sinister green mark, showing a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth.

"Is that…" whispered Lily.

"Yeah, I think so." He gripped Lily's hand even tighter, and tried to ignore the dark marks, which seemed to peer down at them from all sides.

They came to the end of the road, when they saw a small, dusty sign out the front of what seemed to be just another, old, run down house.

"Moonswane Inn." Read the sign, and James stopped, staring at the house for a moment, before turning to Lily.

"Listen, if I tell you to run then you have to promise me that you will, ok? I'm fine, Prongs will help me, but if anything happened to you in here then I don't think I could bare it."

"But James-"

"Please! Promise me, that if it gets too dangerous in here, you will leave it to me. Let me handle it."

"But I-"

"Lily. Promise?" James said, looking deep into her eyes, his mouth set in a determined line. Lily nodded, and they started up the pathway.

When they opened the door, they were surprised to find the inn a lot bigger than it had been on the outside. The room they had entered was an old, stone pub, which made them wonder why they had ever thought that the Hogs Head was dirty.

"I hope that this isn't the place." Whispered Lily, fear etched in every tone of her small voice as she eyed the occupants of the room. Shabby looking men and women sat at grubby little tables, sipping fire whisky, or other smoking goblets and glasses. Some were covered in hoods, and dressed in rags, while others, whose features were exposed, had large gashes across their blotched faces, many of which had long whiskers, or pointed teeth.

When Lily and James entered, they eyed them greedily, and one man in the corner actually growled. James pulled Lily close, his arm around her shoulder, and led her over to the bar.

"What're two young witch and wizard like yourself doin' 'ere? Asked the scruffy man behind the bar, smiling to reveal two fang like teeth, which were stained yellow and red.

"We're looking for someone." He said. "Do you know Remus Lupin? A man about our age? We think he may be staying with you…"

James trailed off at the look on the bartender's face. He was sneering at them with his blood stained teeth, and he looked Lily up and down.

"I might know the kid you're talking about…" he growled, not taking his eyes off Lily.

"But you two'll be lucky to see him…" he said. Lily's heart sank, and she spoke for the first time, in desperation.

"So you don't know where he is? Is he ok?"

"Oh he's ok, but you two wont be…not two full bloods like yourself. You shouldn't be here." And even as he spoke, the werewolves at the tables began to stand, and close in around them. Lily felt a hand grab her arm, a dirty, long taloned hand whose nails where caked with dried blood, and whose knuckles were hairy and worn.

James didn't let go of her hand, and the other werewolves closed in aground her, Lily trying not to scream out loud as they dug their nails into her skin, and didn't release their grasp.

"Best let go now boy…" sneered one, in James ear. "Better let her go gracefully than put up a fight."

"That's what you think." James said back.

The werewolf was angry now, and annoyed that James wasn't giving in so easily. Raising his hands in fury, he clawed at James' face, and the pain it caused made him let go of Lily's arm.

"James!" She cried, but couldn't do anything to help her friend, as he writhed on the ground, being attacked from all sides by bored and tormented men.

They hoisted Lily onto the bar, and poked at her legs.

"Walk for us pretty girl! Give us a real show!" They cried.

"What do you think I am?" Lily yelled back, and the first werewolves to join her, who seemed to be something of a leader among the group, leapt onto the bar and pushed her over and against the wall, pinning her their with his hands, so close that she could smell his foul, stale breath. He had his claws clenched around her throat, and she was gasping for breath.

"What do I think you are?" he hissed at her. "I think you are in trouble."

And the werewolf growled, tightening his grip on her neck so that she could feel the oxygen leaving her body, and knew that if help didn't come soon she wouldn't be able to get anymore…

"Foguliitis!" bellowed a voice from the direction of the stairway, but Lily didn't have time to see who had yelled the incantation, for the room had filled itself with smog and smoke, and no one could see within an inch of their own face.

The next moment she felt a soft, kind hand grab her by the arm, and pull her across the room. Lily vaguely registered that the werewolf had released her neck, though she wasn't thinking about that now, she just knew that she had to put as much distance between herself and that pub.

Lily saw the door of the pub open in front of her, and the figure led her outside. James was next to her, being dragged out as well. The man who had them turned to face the two, scared friends.

"What are you doing here?" asked Lupin, once they were around the corner and out of sight of the pub. Lily launched herself on him, grabbing Lupin into a warm embrace the moment she knew who he was.

"What are you doing here?" he repeated. Lily stopped smiling, and James clapped him on the shoulder.

"Getting you. Bringing you back!" he said to his friend. Lily noticed that James had a large gash across his face, and his leg seemed to be oddly misshapen, however, his smile was broad, and his expression a happy one. Lupin, on the other hand, could not look more sullen if he tried.

"What if I didn't want to be brought back?" he said quietly, turning away from them, determine not to look Lily in the eye. He couldn't bare their kindness, or their friendship. He knew that he didn't deserve any form of either.

"What do you mean Moony?" said James, exasperated; "You cant seriously like it here?"

Lupin shook his head.

"No, I don't, but I'll get used to it. I don't belong at Hogwarts, that's for sure."

"Why not? Listen Remus, the other night-" Lily grabbed him by the arm and turned him so that he faced her, though he bowed his head, and still refused to look at her face.

"The other night was not your fault. Do you want to know how I knew that it was you?" she asked. Lupin didn't answer, but James gave her shoulder a short squeeze, encouraging her to continue.

"Your eyes Remus! You were apologising to me, even while you were…you know! And I don't care! Ok? And no one else would, either! Not me! Not Danielle, and especially not-" Lupin looked up finally.

"Especially not Ella. Now will you please come back to Hogwarts?" she said quietly. "Where you belong." Lupin began to argue, and looked to James for help, but he shook his head, and Lupin even managed a small smile. I suppose anything would seem small compared to the one that Lily was wearing.

"I'm sorry you two had to come here." He said. "That's twice that I almost got you killed Lily." He said quietly, as the walked to the edge of the street.

"It was our choice, no one made us! And you also saved our lives, so I think that we're even Lupin." Lily said.

"Actually, someone did make ME come. This thing here stole my broom and my cloak and threatened to soar out the window! Feisty little-"

"You love me James Potter!" Lily snapped back. James smiled to himself, which only Lupin noticed.

Yes actually, I do, he thought to himself, but didn't voice his opinions. There would be time for that later. A time when they weren't in a village full of werewolves and accompanied by Lupin.

"How are we going to get back?" asked Lily. "We can't ride the same broom stick!"

"Appearate to Hogsmeade I suppose, get Cass to fix us all up again." James laughed. Lupin also smiled. His grandmother would find the fact that they needed her help twice in one week extremely amusing. Three was their record, and she never let them forget it.

"Sounds good." Said Lupin.


	8. The Room Of requirement M'lady

The room of Requirement M'Lady…

The week that followed was a mess of making up classes, and time spent in the library. Lily was up until late at night, searching the books for traces of information that could show her whatever heliotropes was, or give her the remotest idea as to where she could find the bloodstone. She knew that if she could remember where she had heard all this before everything would make sense. She lay awake each night, straining her memory, travelling back to even before she had come to Hogwarts, just trying to remember where she had heard about the legend. If James had heard it too, though, it had to be something in the wizarding world…but then again, he could just be saying this to make her feel less crazy…

James was another reason that she was having trouble sleeping. The way she felt about him seemed to be even more confusing than the heliotrope. She couldn't deny that he was the sweetest guy she had ever met in her life; he had changed over the summer, and he certainly was good-looking. It also helped that he was crazy about her. However, she couldn't admit to herself that she liked James Potter, and so, for the moment, that was the way it had to be. Lily would feel herself begin to fantasize about the boy, and would immediately stop herself, and try desperately to control her thoughts. He was, at the moment, just a friend, though nothing else.

As the weather became colder, and the days became shorter, Lily, Ella, Dani and the marauders could be seen more frequently beside the Griffindore fire, Lily and James normally pouring over books, 'studying', Ella and Lupin deep in conversation, and Dani and Sirius either arguing, or sitting with their backs to one another, signifying that they were in the middle of a fight, and wouldn't speak to each other for a very long time.

One night, like any other, Lily put down the book that she was poring over (a rare occurrence) and groaned in frustration. James looked up from his, grinning at her.

"You two hey?" he asked quietly. She nodded.

"I can't sleep James! This is getting so frustrating! I know that I've heard it somewhere before, but I have no idea where!" she sighed, and leaned back in her armchair. James chuckled slightly.

"It's not funny Potter!" she said huffily. James merely laughed again.

"I know, you just looked funny then, you know. We're pretty crazy, doing all this research for something that doesn't even concern us remotely." He said. Lily did indeed look quite comical, with her book in her hand, sprawled out over the squashy little chair, strands of hair escaping her ponytail and falling over her face. She tried to blow them off in vain, which only made James laugh all the more.

"Why don't we have a break tonight Lily?" he said. Lily nodded sadly, and looked out the window. They had searched all the sections of the library that they could, and even asked for help from Madam Pince, the irritable librarian. Nothing had worked, yet something nagged at the edge of Lily's brain, something that they hadn't tried yet…

"James!" she said suddenly, sitting up straight in the chair, and sending the books sitting on her lap flying onto the rug where Dani and Sirius sat arguing, hitting Sirius on the head.

"Ow!" he complained.

"Sorry." Said Lily softly. Then she smiled at James.

"Feel like an adventure?" she asked and smiled at James.

"What did you have in mind?" he asked cheekily, winking at her suggestively. Lily laughed, and threw a book at him, hitting him on the head much more purposefully than Sirius, shaking her head.

"Shut up James! We're going to the library." James looked at her curiously for a moment, before he caught on.

"You had better mean the restricted section Evans, because if that's your idea of an adventure…" James trailed off, teasing her.

"Invisibility cloak?" she asked him hopefully.

"I'll be right back." He said, and sprinted up to his dormitory. The others looked at Lily questioningly, but she shook them off with a laugh. When James returned a moment later, he threw the cloak over them, after waving goodbye to their friends.

"We'll be back soon." Said Lily's voice, from mid air. They all laughed, as James invisibly stole Sirius's quill, and ran off, out the door, Lily's hand tightly grasped in his…

"I'm guessing we're going to look for the heliotrope…" said James, once they had snuck past Madam Pince while she locked the door to the library. Getting back out was going to be another story. Lily nodded at him. It was late at night now, and the library was closed, so they threw the cloak off of them, and started up the aisle of the restricted section. The only problem was, they had no idea what a heliotrope was, let alone the information to find out what it could be used for.

"I have no idea Lily." James said to her after an hour of searching. "But if Dumbledore doesn't know then I guess it can't be found in any book at Hogwarts. Lily was just about to leave when a small, emerald green coloured book in the bottom shelf caught her eye. It stood out from the rest of the dusty volumes in the shelves, as it was the newest book in the section. Lily didn't know they even purchased new books for this part of the library. Yet here it was. In her hands she clutched the small, intriguing book, and it seemed to call out to her. Like she had seen it before, though she knew in her heart that this was the first time that she had ever laid eyes on the tiny book. For some reason, she pocketed it.

"What's that?" James asked her, as they went to leave the library.

"I don't really know, but it was a new book, and it was in the restricted section, it just seemed…" she trailed off. She didn't know herself why she had pocketed the book; she certainly couldn't find the words to explain it to James.

"O-k…" he said, and walked over to the door of the library, tugging at the handle. It came open easily, and James threw the invisibility cloak back over the two of them. They walked down the hall, hand in hand, James looking at the little book, and Lily disappointed that their excursion to the library hadn't been more successful.

Lily and James reached the portrait hole, and stopped, open-mouthed. The portrait was empty. Where the fat lady normally sat was nothing but blank canvas, and a sticky situation. Lily groaned.

"I should have known. Go walking round the castle with James Potter at night and something like this is bound to happen!" she cried. James laughed at her.

"Yep, I'm doomed even before I begin." He commented. It was Lily's turn to laugh.

"Well what are we going to so now then? Sit here and wait till she comes back?" said Lily, looking up and down the corridor. They couldn't both sleep under the cloak easily, and sooner or later Filch wound find them.

"No, I know a place…follow me." He set off at an alarming speed, and walked her all the way to a place of the castle that Lily had hardly ever visited. On one side of the corridor there was a large, quite silly tapestry of a mad man teaching some crazy trolls how to dance ballet. On the other side was an oddly blank stretch of wall.

"I need somewhere comfy for Lily and I to sleep, I need somewhere comfy for Lily and I to sleep, I need somewhere comfy for Lily and I to sleep, James repeated over and over again, ignoring Lily's protests and abandoning the invisibility cloak, walking back and forth. Lily thought for a moment that James might have been going crazy, but the outline of a door soon appeared on the blank stretch of wall, and Lily's mouth dropped open in amazement.

"The room of Requirement M'lady, "said James grandly, mocking a deep bow as he opened the door to the room. Lily gasped. The room was a large, warm room, with simular furnishing to the Griffindore common room; large, crimson cushions covered armchairs that sat around a blazing fire, and behind them, a mahogany, four-poster bed.

James laughed. And not at Lily's expression.

"It gave us one bed!" he roared, his face screwed up in laughter.

"What do you mean it gave us? James what is this place?" Lily asked, looking all around her, and moving towards the fire to get warm. James followed her.

"The room of requirement." James carried on to explain to her how the room worked, and told many stories of the times he and the marauders had used to room. Lily was in hysterics by the end of the conversation, by which time it was very late at night, and she was lying on the ground next to the fire, covered wrapped in a blanket from the bed. James sat besides her, laughing himself, reminiscing about the adventure he was illustrating.

"And then…" James couldn't control his laughter, and the last sentence was punctuated by short bursts, "The Remus runs past, and tells it to turn into…"he rolled onto the ground, clutching his side; "Into a bar! And we opened it up, and…and…" he rolled over to face Lily, tears of laughter streaming down his face, "And we opened the door, he was all excited, and he rushed right in, and ran into a big metal bar that the room had! That was it! Just a concrete room with a metal bar!" Lily too, started to laugh as hard as James, and by the time they were done. They were very out of breath. Lily and James lay beside the fire, smiling at each other. Lily was very tired, but she didn't want to admit it, even to herself. She didn't want the night to end. She was having so much fun.

"You're tired." James said quietly, smiling a little. Lily shook her head.

"No! No I'm not, keep talking!" she urged him, but James laughed.

"I know you are Lily, you can hardly keep your eyes open." He drew closer.

Lily smiled, and reluctantly gave in to her closing eyes.

James waited until she had dozed off, and her head had become limp. He lifted her off the ground, and onto the double bed, then climbed in beside her, grinning from ear to ear. He had, without her noticing, stopped his ritual of asking her out each day of the school year, and in return, she seemed to be on the verge of saying yes. That was what James hoped, anyway. Maybe he was just imagining things… James let his eyes close, as he watched her smiling, sleeping face.


	9. Dates and dancing pt1

Dates and Dancing part1…

Lily woke up, and started to change out of the pyjama's the room had provided, hoping against hope that James wouldn't chose this moment to wake. She had enjoyed the night, and didn't want to leave their luxurious sleeping quarters, though she knew that she had too. Classes started in an hour, and they still had to get to breakfast.

"James?" she whispered in his ear. James was wrapped up in blankets, and was snoring slightly, with a small smile peeking across his content face.

"James? Wake up…" She tried again, and his eyelids fluttered into life.

"Morning." She said, grinning. James smiled back.

"What time is it?' he asked groggily, sitting up slowly. Lily laughed.

"Afraid of missing the morning classes are you Potter?" she smirked, laughing, teasingly. James walloped her with his pillow.

"Seriously!" he said, laughing.

"We've got an hour." She answered at last. James got out of bed, and changed into his robes, and they started down to breakfast.

"Thanks for that." She said to him, before they entered the great hall.

"For what?" he asked, though he thought he knew the answer.

"For distracting me last night. I've been getting so worried, about Voldermort, and the stone, and everything, but last night, I actually had a lot of fun."

James grinned.

"Yes, well, I do make a wonderful distraction." He said. "Anytime you need distracting Evan's," James winked at Lily slyly, laughing. She too, cracked a smile at what would have once been an opportunity to scoff.

When they took their usual seats at the table, with their friends, they received the usual reprimands, and Sirius once again showed his remorse that they didn't take him on their little adventure. Lily could feel the little green book in her pocket, and smiled. She hadn't had a chance to read it yet, and it seemed to be begging her to do so, but Lily resisted. For some reason, she didn't want to bring it out in such a crowded place. She felt as though she shared some sort of a secret with the book.

"Sirius Black, you just stole my toast!" Dani said sternly, glaring at him across the table. Sirius was munching on a buttered slice of toast with a satisfied grin on his smug face.

"I couldn't be bothered to butter one myself!" he mumbled, his mouth full of food. Dani scowled.

"Well then you're going to butter mine for me!" she proclaimed. Sirius snorted. Dani glared at him even harder, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Fine." Sighed Sirius, and put a tiny dap of butter on a slice of bread, and handed it across the table to Dani, who proclaimed that it wasn't good enough for her, and he must do it again.

"They carried on in this fashion all through the meal, which was exhausting for their friends, who tried in vain to help the couple out, changing sides frequently as they became ruder and louder.

"Doyle! Why can't you give it a rest!" Screamed Sirius, standing on his seat, and glaring down at Dani. She stood to level with him.

"YOU STARTED IT!" she roared back. By now Lily, James, Ella and Remus found the entire fiasco quite comical, Dani and Sirius both red in the face from arguing. And all over a piece of toast.

"If I could have your attention." Came a loud, but calm voice from the teachers' table. Dani and Sirius stopped mid-yell, and the mass of heads in the hall turned to face the man who had spoken. Dumbledore was standing, and smiling down at the student, Dani and Sirius in particular. Dani was looking sorely embarrassed, and Sirius seemed proud, and waved jovially at the headmaster, who chuckled back.

"Now that that is sorted, "He continued, as Sirius and Dani took their seats once more, ignoring the sniggers of the other students, and teacher. "I would like to announce an event that is fast approaching." He scanned the hall, and his eyes seemed to linger on the marauders and the girls.

"On Halloween, we will, unfortunately, not be partaking in the traditional holiday feast…" there was an annoyed murmur from the crowd. The feast being cancelled? Lily and James exchanged nervous looks. They were both thinking the same thing. _Could this have something to do with Voldermort?_

Those whose eyes were on Dumbledore, however, knew that the reasoning behind the announcement was none that sinister. He was smiling serenely, and winked at a few horror struck students.

"We will," he rose his voice above the aggravated crowd, "Be holding a Halloween ball, on the Thirty first, which will include a banquet…" he continued, and a cheer erupted from the tables that filled the hall. Even Sirius and Dani temporarily forgot that they were at loggerheads, and smiled at each other. Dumbledore continued to talk, but James wasn't listening. He knew who he would like to invite. But he was much too scared to ask. Fancy that, he thought to himself. Me, afraid of a girl! But to James, Lily wasn't just any girl, and he was very nervous at the prospect of asking her to the ball. If she turned him down, then everything that he had worked on in the last couple on months would go down the drain, and it would be back to 'Potter' for him. No more James. He shivered at the thought.

"So, when are you gonna ask her?" asked Lupin, as he, James and Sirius walked to transfiguration that morning. James snorted.

"Ask who?" he said airily, smirking at Remus as Sirius snorted.

"Lily." Remus said simply, exchanging looks with Sirius.

James laughed.

"Who said that I was going to ask Lily? I don't even fancy her anymore Moony, I thought I might ask Ella." James said, and Remus stopped in his tracks, his face white. Sirius chuckled, and James laughed along, Lupin, meanwhile, remained stony.

"Joking Moony, I was kidding!" he said, and Lupin's features relaxed at once, his breathing regular again, as James and Sirius slapped him on the back and made him continue walking.

"At least we know who Remus is asking then, don't we Padfoot?" said James, and Lupin grinned.

"Halloween here we come!" Sirius screamed, and though they didn't ask him who he had on his mind, it was a little obvious who Sirius would be asking before long, no matter how hard he denied it now.

Lupin, however, looked even sicker than he had a moment earlier, and this time, it wasn't because of a joke. He groaned loudly, and punched a wall.

"Moony!" Exclaimed Sirius, and turned a groaning Lupin around to face them. James and Sirius were worried about their friend.

"Halloween! Don't you realise what's happening on Halloween?" he said in anguish, and it slowly dawned on the boys why Remus was so distressed. Halloween was a full moon. If Remus went to the ball then there would be a serious safety issue. James wished that there was some hope for his friend, but his and Lily's searches for the bloodstone were, so far, fruitless. Though they were both sure that they had heard the legend before, neither had a clue as to where.

That night, James watched Lily intently for a moment to ask her top the ball. He didn't want to ask her in front of Ella and Dani. If she turned him down brutally then Sirius and Remus would be sure to know the details. He had to find the opportune moment, and until that came along, he had to endure the endless amounts of boys who were attempting to beat him to it.

Lily was quite a popular girl. She was already being asked to the ball by a number of boys, and, to Sirius's horror, so was Dani. Remus was melancholy the entire day and night. When a Griffindore guys would approach Ella as they sat by the fire that night, his eyes would flash, but he couldn't do anything to stop her saying yes; he couldn't go to the ball, no matter what. Lily had worked out his predicament, and begged him to tell Ella the truth, to which Remus refused blatantly.

Sirius, on the other hand, wouldn't give any other guy a chance to get anywhere near Dani, considering the attention she and the other girls were getting, this was a mean feat. Anyone crossing the room to speak to her would find themselves temporarily bound together with invisible ropes, or their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth. Others suddenly embarrassed themselves in ways that they didn't think possible, as if on their own accord. Only James and Remus seemed to realise that Sirius had his wand behind his back, or under a table, whispering the incantations to turn the victims robes into a clowns costume, or hair bright pink. Others found themselves wearing makeup, which Sirius was always first to point out.

By the time that a follow seventh year boy, Carl Watson, approached Lily, she was looking rather exhausted, and glanced longingly at James. She had been hoping, all night, that he would be the next to approach her, but knew that it would never happen. She had stressed the 'only friends' thing much too hard. It was up to her now, and she couldn't bring herself to admit to the world that she liked James Potter. It had been hard enough admitting it to herself.

"Um, sorry Carl, I cant, I, uh, sorry…" she trailed off, and James mouth curved upwards once more, as he breathed yet another sigh of relief.

"Why did you turn Carl down Lil? He's not bad to look at, and he's in our year! Better go with him than one of those first years earlier." Dani laughed. "Plus, if you keep on turning all of these perfectly fine guys down then everyone will think that there's something wrong with you!"

"No they wont!" said James abruptly, sitting up straight. Remus and Sirius groaned.

"What else could it be?" asked Dani. "Who, in their right mind, would turn down a date with Carl Watson?"

Sirius was interested now.

"I would!" he said stupidly glaring at Dani, and backing up his friend. Ella snorted, and Lupin almost cracked a smile too, before he caught Ella's eye, and stopped. He knew that she must have been expecting him to ask her to the ball, and he expected himself too as well, but he knew that he couldn't. If he were to go to the ball he would be a very furry, murderous date.

"Oh wow Sirius! Great! I'm glad that I asked! It's not like he'd ask you any way!" she said wildly. The argument was getting quite absurd.

"He's a prat Dani! That bloke spends half his life in front of the mirror! You don't have to share a dorm with the guy! He's horrible!" Sirius exclaimed. James was glad that the attention was off him, but he wished that Lily would stop looking at him. He could feel her emerald green eyes boring into the side of his head, as though trying to read the thoughts within.

"Well if I looked like him then I might spend my life in front of the mirror too!" said Dani, her voice getting dangerously loud.

"You're a thousand times better looking than that guy Dani! And you're a damn sight nicer, so that argument is stupid!" Sirius screamed, and then looked as though someone had clubbed him over the head. Dani wore a simular expression, and Lily and James dared not look at each other, for fear that they wouldn't be able to restrain their laughter.

"What?" Dani said, her voice much quieter now.

"I have no idea. What were we even arguing about in the first place?" Said Sirius, and didn't meet her eyes.

Ella was giggling quietly, and Remus had tears trickling down his face as he tried to hold back his laughter.

"Well, who are you going to go with then Lily?" asked Ella, trying to break the awkward silence.

"Um, I'm not sure…" Said Lily, suddenly looking very uncomfortable.

"Yeah, but if you're turning all these guys down then you must have someone in mind." Ella pushed, glancing at James quickly. James was examining the back of his right hand, trying to act uninterested.

"It's only just been announced Ella! We have two weeks, and besides, it's not like you haven't been knocking back offers all day! Does that mean that you're waiting for someone?" all the guys' heads popped up, looking at Lupin, who was determinedly looking away.

"I dunno, I guess I…" she trailed off, looking at the back of Lupin's head. She couldn't see the creases that covered his face in worry, or the frown that controlled his mouth.

"I guess that I'll accept the next guy, I just thought that…never mind…" Ella trailed off sadly, and Lily cursed herself for getting carried away with the argument. She had forgotten who she was talking to. Of course Remus wasn't going to ask her to the ball…

"Dani?" Lily said, turning the conversation around apologetically, "What about you? Who do you have your eye on? Carl?" Sirius snorted, and Dani, for once, didn't argue back.

"I dunno. I have no idea." She said sadly, trying not to look at Sirius. "But it's not as if they've been lining up to ask me, is it?" she said gloomily. Lily and Ella had been wondering about this too. They were probably the most popular girls in the seventh year. Why had she been left out?

The maunders, however, knew exactly why, and there was a rush to throw things at Sirius.

"Ow! OW! OWWW!" he said, as he was pelted from all directions with ink pellets, books and cushions. "What was that for!" he yelled at his friends, glaring at them warningly. Lily knew, but the marauders said nothing, silenced by Sirius' look.

Lily looked up to see a very pretty, very popular sixth year girl crossing the room, looking straight at James. Lily glanced quickly at Sirius, and then pointed her wand under the table…

"James! Are you wearing makeup!" screeched Lily, and amid all the laughter, James' horror, and the girl's disgust, Sirius shot Lily an appraising look, grinning.

A week passed, and the girls still hadn't accepted a date from any of their admirers and the marauders still hadn't taken it upon themselves to be one of those admirers. Many guys were now roaming the school with makeup-covered faces.

"Sirius, you have to stop it! Dani is getting really depressed!" Lily hissed, dragging him away from the others.

"Feisty little hypocrite," he laughed, and even Lily cracked a grin, but she stopped at the gloomy look on her Dani's face.

"Why don't you just ask her yourself?" she asked him, exasperated.

"Seriously Lily, it's not like she'd say yes! You've seen the way that she looks at me!" Sirius argued, and Lily had no retort.

"Well, at least don't make her go to the ball alone! She's getting really upset." Lily urged.

"Wont matter much, you and Ella don't have dates either!" He said. Lily looked away, back to the table where their friends sat, laughing.

"Well, I, I mean, I…" she trailed off. She sighed. It had been a week. If James was planning on asking her then he had had plenty of chances…

"Oi Carl!" she cried, and the seventh year crossed the common room to where Lily and Sirius stood.

"Hey." He said to Lily when he reached them, ignoring Sirius completely. He was standing, mouth opened.

"Hey, listen, I'm sorry about the other night, I needed to get something's sorted out, do you still want to go to the ball with me?" she asked Carl sweetly, smiling innocently, though Sirius could tell that it was faked. Her lips hardly moved when she talked.

"S, sure…" Carl spluttered. "See you then…" and he walked proudly back to his group of friends on the other side of the room.

"You had better remove his makeup for me before we have our date Sirius." Said Lily sadly, and Sirius gapped at her.

"What the ruddy hell did you do that for?" he hissed, pulling her closer and whispering.

"I was sick of waiting around for a date that was never going to come," she said, defiant. Sirius groaned.

"Well James has made an ass of himself, hasn't he!" he exclaimed.

"What's this about my ass?" came James voice from their group by the fire. Sirius and Lily joined them.

"Why are you smiling all creepy Lily?" asked Lupin when they sat down. He had been abnormally downhearted all week. Lily made a desperate effort to make her smile more realistic, though she could hardly remember ever feeling this hopeless.

"Nothing! Why do I seem creepy? I'm happy! I just got a date to the ball." James chocked on the butterbeer he was drinking, and spluttered it all over Dani.

"Ew! James, that is disgusting! And Lily! Oh my gosh! Who with?" she asked excitedly, kneeling up to get the low down on the gossip.

"Carl Watson." She said, letting down her guard and allowing the fake, sickly smile to slid right off her face.

"WHAT!" cried James, jumping from the chair. He glared at Sirius.

"Why didn't you stop her?" he hissed. Lily was too busy filling her friends in on details to notice.

"What was I meant to do? You did have the chance to ask her out you know? It's not that hard." Sirius argued, desperate for an excuse to stop James staring at him so accusingly.

"Not that hard? I'll just remember that the next time that I catch you staring at Dani then, shall I?" James asked quietly, making his friend go red.

"Well, not if…not if the next time is after the ball!" Sirius snapped back, desperate for a comeback. He looked disgusted in his choice, and slunk away into an armchair opposite James.

"So, when did he…when did he…uh…" James tried to ask Lily, but he couldn't seem to get the words out

"He didn't, I did." She said promptly.

"You WHAT?" James yelled.

"I-asked-him-out." She said back, staring into his eyes, trying to read him. He looked angry, yet, could it be…a little hurt?

"Bad move Lily, if you don't mind me saying." Said Remus, joining in the conversation and putting a comforting hand on James heaving shoulder. "Guys expect more from girls who do the asking."

"And what? You two think that I can't take care of myself? Trust me, I'll be fine, I'm not scared of Carl Watson. I think I'll go to bed now." She said, and started up the stairs, leaving everyone staring after her. She turned, and gave a flirtatious wave at Carl, who gestured back. James growled.

"What was she thinking?" he cried, leaning backwards in the chair in anguish.

"Well mate, I believe her exact words were- I'm sick of waiting for a date that's never going to come." Informed Sirius. James looked confused.

"Who could that be?" he asked. Everyone present groaned loudly.

"Men." Said Dani, "I don't think I'll ever understand them. Night." She got up off the heath rug and walked around the back of the chairs, kissing Sirius lightly on the top of the head as she went. His eyes widened, and Ella giggled.

"I think I'll head to bed too. Night guys!" and she walked off. Lupin looked for a moment as though he was hoping for a peck on the head himself, but he was sorely disappointed. The boys didn't stay in the common room much longer, Lupin was too depressed to do anymore homework, James was too blank, hopeless and confused, and Sirius's eyes remained in the same, bewildered stare that they had made when Dani had kissed him, confused thoughts still buoyant in his mind.

Lily lay awake for a long time that night, staring at the ceiling of her four-poster bed. She felt like crying, but knew that that was stupid. She had done this to herself, and, besides, Carl Watson wasn't so bad. As Sirius had said, he thought very highly of himself, but it was only one night, and she could ditch him if she got sick of it.

No, the thing that upset her most was the look on James face when he found out. He really did care, she could tell. But he hadn't asked her out…

"Why didn't you ask her out!" said Sirius loudly, the moment the boys reached the dormitory. James flopped backwards onto the bed, his hands over his eyes.

"I thought she'd say NO! I was too scared! I'm such an idiot!"

Sirius sat on the edge of his bed gingerly, still pondering the kiss, and Lupin looked simply hopeless. He had given up, and lay, curled up like a cat on his bed. The guys lay there until late in the night, when they finally fell asleep, and Sirius turned out the light.

Sirius, James and Lily headed across the school grounds towards the Care of Magical Creatures class. Nothing had been said of the night before, though Lily and James were oddly formal towards each other, and Sirius still seemed slightly dazed, no matter how hard he tried to concentrate at breakfast.

"What's Dumbledore doing there?" James asked, when they drew closer to the area outside Hagrid's hut. Hagrid, Professor Kettleby, and Dumbledore all stood around a tall perch, almost as high as the headmaster. They were laughing, and when they turned to greet the first students for the day, Lily, James and Sirius saw that Dumbledore had a magnificent golden red bird perched on his arm.

Lily's breath caught in her throat.

"That's a…is that a phoenix?" she gasped, and the boys, too, looked, stunned, at the brilliant, fire hued bird.

"I didn't know that Dumbledore had one!" said Sirius in hushed tones.

"Hello Mr Black, Mr Potter, Ms Evans." Said Dumbledore serenely, inclining his head to the three.

"How you three bin? Keepin' outa trouble?" said Hagrid. Professor Kettleby said nothing, just laughed at the awe filled expressions the students wore as they looked at the phoenix.

"I told you that they would appreciate her Albus." Said Professor Kettleby in delight. Dumbledore chuckled, and held his arm out to Lily's, so that she was eye to eye with the bird.

"This is Fawkes. Fawkes is a phoenix."

"Hello Fawkes." Said Lily quietly, and the Phoenix lowered its head. Lily looked into its deep orange eyes. They seemed to be yearning to tell her something. They looked as though they were filled with sadness, jubilation, fear and hope all at the same time. She wished that she could tell what those eyes were screaming at her. She felt like she had such a powerful connection with this bird that she couldn't bare to break the contact, and look away. Fawkes gave a low, gentle cry, and Lily felt her heart lurch. It was a sound like she had never heard before, though if it had had words then Lily knew she would somehow know all of them. The musical cry seemed to be her own thoughts, her sadness, her worry, her hope and her passion, all directed out of his curved, golden beak.

"I think he has taken a liking to you Miss Evans." Said Dumbledore, as the class gathered round and Kettleby explained the Phoenix to the gathering, how their tears had healing powers and they could carry amazing weight. How they burst into flame and were reborn from the ashes. Fawkes, however, had turned its attention to James. James was reluctant to look into the bird's eyes at first. He seemed scared, for some reason, of what he would see. The phoenix seemed to be calling out to him, and not just through the low, musical cry that it was emitting. James was scared of the strange bird, which seemed to know him better than he did himself.

When their eyes did, finally, meet, James couldn't look away. It was like the orange and yellow diamonds entranced him, dancing with colour and light. Fawkes seemed to see right through him, through all his lies and all of his fears to the truth within. This was a person who James had only ever let Lily, Sirius and Remus see, and he was not at all sure that he liked the idea of a bird knowing who he really was.

Fawkes seemed to be trying to tell him something. To let him know, silently, of a danger, of trouble that lay ahead. Like it was silently willing James to enter into its head and hear whatever it was saying, but all that it could do was let out more beautiful music. Though James could tell that the bird was worried for some reason, the sound that came through it's beak was pure, and seemed to signal hope, no matter how ill of fortune the message was that he wished to deliver.

James looked at Lily, and when their eyes met, they both knew what the other was thinking. They both had something in common with that Phoenix. They might not ever know what, but the three of them would meet again, and they knew it.

Throughout the lesson, Dumbledore amazed them a number of times, using Fawkes to transport him to the other side of the field in a flash of flame, and holding to his tail while he soared to the top of trees and back down again.

"That was a great lesson, wasn't it? I've never heard of Dumbledore giving students lessons before!" Sirius said, as they made their way back towards the castle.

"You wouldn't have. Didn't you hear his talking to Kettleby just now? This is the first time that he's ever done that. Said that he thought it would be important to our class…" she trailed off, and her eyes locked with James'. Had Dumbledore known what they had felt when they saw the phoenix.

It's just a bird, James reminded himself. But he couldn't help but think of Fawkes as much more than just a bird, and by the time they took their seats in a history of Magic that afternoon, he had moved him up from, just a bird, to something like a friend.

Lily and James, however, were becoming less and less like friends as the day wore on, and by the time that dinner came around, the seats that they normally took at the Griffindore table were sorely adjusted, so that they no longer sat opposite each other, but in opposite corners of the group, to avoid all conversation with each other.

Neither acted mad, or would be the first to admit that they were downhearted by the up coming ball, but when he was not laughing loudly at Sirius' jokes, or teasing Ella and Dani, James would get a sad, sullen look in his eyes, and whenever Lily caught sight of Carl, she felt a growing sense of shame and dread.

Lily, James, and Remus all went to bed early that night, leaving Ella, Sirius and Dani by the fire.

"What are we going to do about them hey?" said Ella, watching James and Lily go up to their dormitories. Sirius was hardly listening, but staring vaguely at Dani, who was doing her homework on the small table that they sat around.

"Mmmm, they're really, really…" he trailed off. It was obvious that his mind could not be further from the matter if he tried, "…stupid."

Ella grinned, and Dani snuck a peek at them. When she caught Sirius looking at her she blushed fiercely.

"So Girls!" he said, embarrassedly snapping out of his stupor. "Exciting news! First Quidditch match of the season! Griffindore versus Ravenclaw!" Sirius was a chaser, with James, on the Griffindore Quidditch team. The team was becoming something of Hogwarts legend, as James liked to say.

"You in with a chance?" teased Ella.

"A chance? We'll flatten them!" Sirius roared, making a couple of second years in the next chair jump. The girls laughed.

"You know what, I don't know if you will. I mean, you've got a good team and all, but I think Lily was right when she said that the brooms wont be able to carry your BIG HEADS." Said Ella, laughing all the same. "And besides, they've got a really good team this year, that Matt Carving guy, he's the new captain, he's put together a really good side."

For some reason, at these words, Dani looked extremely uncomfortable, and made to pack up her things and leave.

"Carving?" said Sirius, "I hate that bloke! He thinks he's so hot! And last Quidditch match, remember, he knocked me off my broom! If James hadn't swung under me then who knows what would have happened!"

"Um, he's not that bad," came a small voice. They both turned to look at Dani, who wouldn't look up from the ground, "Actually, I'm going to the ball with him…Night." And she went up the stairs before Sirius could run after her and pull her back. Not that he didn't try. He leapt over the back of his chair and sprinted to the door that led up to the girls' dormitory, sticking his head in.

"OI! Oi! DANI! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE GOING WITH HIM? DOES THAT MEAN THAT YOU'RE GOING WITH HIM?" There was no answer, and Sirius slumped over to his seat by the fire, groaning. Ella looked at him sympathetically.

"If it's any help, I'm not having much luck with that either." she said sadly.

"What aren't you having much luck with? Asking the girl that you're crazily in love with if she can stop hating you for one minute so that she can go to the ball?" he said, breathing deeply.

"Uh, wow. You really like her, don't you?" she asked. Sirius groaned.

"I hate this stupid ball! Now I have to find a date that will make her more jealous than I am right now! And I can't do that! Do you realise how jealous I am! What date could top this?"

Ella could hardly hold back a giggle. She felt sorry for Sirius, but, considering her own predicament, her sympathy was limited.

"If it helps Sirius, I think that she'll be jealous no matter who you bring, and I don't think that that's a good thing." She said sadly. She looked wistfully up towards the door to the boys' dormitory.

"Listen, do you know why…" she trailed off, "No, don't worry, I don't think that I want to know."

"Wait!" said Sirius, "Do _you_ want to go to the ball with me? That way we go as friends, no body gets jealous, and, um…" he was about to say that Remus wouldn't have to worry about strange guys hitting on her, but he thought it best to leave Remus out of it.

Ella sighed.

"Sure! It's not like they're lining up to be with me anyway." She said, tired, "Thanks Sirius, listen, do you mind if I go to bed? I'm really tired." Sirius shook his head, and she went up the staircase.

Sirius opened the door to his dormitory, ignored the other, threw himself onto his bed, covered his face with a pillow and screamed at the top of his lungs. No one else in the dormitory moved an inch.

"You too eh Padfoot?" asked James when he was done, staring at the roof blankly.

The rest of the week passed in a frenzy of swapped dress robes and gossip. The news that the three prettiest Griffindore girls now had dates swept like an angry wave through the male population of the school, while the girls met it with elation. The marauders now found themselves followed down the corridors, by young witches who no longer feared that Lily Evan's would hex them, and James had jumped on the first date that he was offered, a seventh year Ravenclaw by the name of Rosie Clayton. Rosie was a tall, blond girl, with fair skin and quite a pretty face when it could be seen under the inches of makeup that she wore.


	10. Dates and Dancing pt2

Dates and Dancing part 2…

Friday was Halloween, and the whole school had been granted a day off lessons to prepare, a decision that had been made, no doubt, by the females of the school, who seemed to have, in the boys opinion, multiplied in number in the space of two weeks.

Ella, Lily and Dani had each purchased new dress robes at the beginning of the year. Ella had pretty, floaty robes of pale blue, while Dani had purchased pink robes. Lily wore bright, jade green, with a pink lining.

The girls had a great day; holed up in their dormitory, doing each other's hair and makeup, and gossiping like they did before they had hung out with the boys.

"What'll our dates do when they see us hey?" said Ella triumphantly, when they looked at themselves in the mirror, ready to head down to the ball. Their smiling faces fell. Their dates. None of the girls had ended up with anyone that they had hoped they would, and each was dreading the ball in their own way. Lily knew that it would mean a whole night of lectures about Carls many achievements, and looking over her shoulder to see what James was doing, and how close he and Rosie were. Dani was dreading seeing Sirius there with her best friend. He had not said a word to her all week, and the fact that he and Matt hated each other didn't help the matter. Ella felt equally hopeless, though she didn't know why. She had a great date, and she wouldn't have to worry about normal date stuff while she was there with Sirius. The only thing that worried her is what she would do when she found out whom Remus was there with, as he had been oddly vague and mysterious about the matter.

But the boys that they were there with would certainly not be disappointed. Dani's hair was in soft curls that fell gracefully about her face, changing her sharp features angelically, and her cheeks were a rosy pink. Ella's hair was swept up into a loose knot at the back of her head, with pieces falling out here and there, and she wore cool colours on her flawless skin. Lily had her red hair was set in gentle waves, and the green in her robes made her eyes seem twice as brilliant. She looked like a princess, with pink cheeks and green eye shadow. They were ready.

Lily and Ella stepped into the common room nervously, for that's where their dates would be meeting

"Hey," Lily said timidly, when she approached Carl. Sirius scowled. Ella, who had promised to stay near Lily all night, had forced him over to them. Dani, for some reason, looked just as nervous as the other girls did, though she wouldn't be meeting her date until they reached the entrance hall, and adjusted her dress frantically at the sight of Sirius. Sirius tried desperately to keep a blank expression, however, when Dani turned away, he turned to Ella with pain etched all over his face.

"Why did you do that?" he moaned.

"Do what?" she whispered back.

"Make her look so good…" he couldn't take his eyes off Dani, and Ella, who might ordinarily be off put by her dates lack of interest, was scanning the common room, her eyes darting from corner to corner.

"Where's Remus?" she asked.

"Uh, his mum got really sick, he had to go and help her." Sirius said quickly, having worked this out with Remus and James before hand. Ella frowned.

"I hope she's ok…" her expression changed to one of glee, "Oh no! What will his date do? Do you know who she is?"

"I don't know if he had one, but if he did, I'm sure that she'd be really upset, in the same, smiley way that you are." He said, grinning. Linking arms, the pair led the way out of the common room and down to the entrance hall, Lily, Dani and Carl hot in pursuit.

"So, how long have you liked me for then Evans?" Carl asked Lily, whose hand had been placed reluctantly in his.

"Uh, what do you mean?" she said, uncomfortable already.

"I mean, how long had you been plucking up the courage to ask me out?" he said, flashing her a toothy grin and winking. Lily looked the other way, repulsed.

They reached the entrance hall, Dani feeling increasingly like a fourth wheel, and Ella feeling increasingly stupid that she was there with Sirius.

When they reached the entrance hall, Sirius let out a low growl like an angry dog, and his eyes narrowed, set upon the Ravenclaw boy in the centre of the room. Dani scowled at him, and skipped over to Matt, grabbing his hand, and standing on tiptoes to peck him lightly on the cheek before looking back at Sirius, whose eyes were painfully narrowed. She ignored him, and strode hand in hand with Mat into the great hall. Shrugging, the others followed her.

Before she had walked the entire length of the hall, however, Lily saw James. He was leaning against the wall in a nonchalant fashion, wearing deep red robes and a disappointed frown. Rosie wasn't with him yet, and Lily walked over to where he stood, figuring that if she didn't clear the silence now then they wouldn't talk for the rest of the night, which was something that she definitely didn't want.

"Hey." She said quietly, leaving Carl waiting for her attentively at the door to the great Hall. James inclined his head, and stood up straight. Looking Lily deep into the eyes, he spoke.

"You look beautiful. Carl's a lucky guy." Lily blushed, and looked away. Anywhere but his eyes.

"You look great too." She said, shyly. Inside she was cringing. _This is James-_Lily thought to herself, _why am I getting shy around James? _Frustrated with her entire being, she forced herself to make a joke, try and go back to the way that they were.

"What's with your hair though Potter?" she laughed, playing with his messy locks, "Doesn't it ever lay flat?"

James laughed too, and frantically pushed it all down, without effect.

"You'd better go, Carl's waiting by the door." He said quietly, the smile fading from both their faces. Lily nodded, and walked back to her date, who grabbed her arm probably rougher than he would have ordinarily, and led her into the Great Hall.

The hall looked spectacular. Floating above their heads were carved pumpkins that Lily was sure Hagrid would have grown himself, and orange and black glitter seemed to float through the sky. Ghosts floated through the crowds, wishing everyone a happy Halloween, and making light shimmer through the crowds.

Live bats flew over head, and Lily laughed as she saw one hit the enchanted ceiling and bounce back down again, shocked that the roof didn't just open out into the heavens.

House elves greeted the students at the door, and led them to their seats for the occasion each dressed in costume. A tiny mummy made his way over to where Carl and Lily stood, and it bowed at their feet.

"Good evening masters, I is Scully, Scully the house elf, and I is to show you to your seats. Your names and house sir?" He asked Carl, and led them to a round table near the rest of the Griffindore's, with enough seats for four other couples.

"This is to be your table this evening, Scully hopes that you enjoy your meal." Said Scully, and with a bow, he left to return to the door of the hall. Within the next few minutes, Dani and Matt, James and Rosie, Peter and a fifth year called Margaret and Ella and Sirius were led over to their table by all sorts of creatures, including a 'ghost' a 'goblin, and what assured them that it was a giant, when it was half their size.

"Tis big for a house elf sir, that's why Calix didn't have to dress up sir." Squeaked the house elf after escorting Sirius to his seat. Sirius snorted, and watched the elf cross the room.

"So." Said James awkwardly when they had finished their meal, and were all sitting around the table uncomfortably, looking from one to the other. Carl reached out and took Lily's hand. James sighed inwardly.

The music was staring up, and a few brave students were getting up and beginning to dance.

"Who's the band anyway?" Rosie asked, looking at the vague looking people at the front of the crowd.

"The Hobgoblins! Stubby Boardman is sooo hot!" squealed Dani. The young wizard at the front of the room was strumming a guitar and jumping around, waving his long dark hair.

"Hot?" said Sirius, "He looks like a criminal!" He turned to Ella. "Want to dance? Some one has to start it!" Ella smiled, and nodded, allowing herself to be dragged onto the dance floor, and moving strangely to the fast song, a la Sirius Black style.

"Oh my gosh, that looks like so much fun!" said Rosie, and before Lily could blink, she had grabbed hold of James and lured him to the dance floor. Peter and Margaret left to dance, and Dani and Mat followed them, so that Lily and Carl were the only couple left at the table.

"Don't you want to dance?" said Carl, leaning over so that he was very close to her. Lily shrugged, not taking her eyes off James and Rosie. A slow song started up, and all the couples looked uncomfortable, recoiling slightly, before the guys took control, and drew closer. All except for James, who had his hand placed on Rosie's hip involuntarily. They were very close now.

"You sure. I love this song." He said, and slid his hand over hers on the table. Lily didn't move.

"No, I'm fine." She tried to change the subject, and looked around for a distraction. Her eyes fell on Peter and Margaret, and she laughed.

"Look at them! She's in so much pain, he can't stop standing on her toes," she laughed, and she felt Carl slide his chair nearer and nearer.

"Yeah, this is fine, and besides…" he lifted her chin up in his cupped hand, "Now it's only us two." Lily jumped up quickly, and grabbed his hand.

"On second thoughts, dancing seems like fun!" she exclaimed, and dragged him onto the floor rashly. That had been close. The last thing that she wanted to do was kiss Carl Watson.

Ella and Sirius were dancing happily, until he caught sight of Dani over her shoulder. Ella gave him a hopeful grin.

"You should just tell her!" she said. "Forget about Mat!" Sirius gave his head a small shake, and Ella put her head on his shoulder.

"Now tell me, where is Remus, really." She whispered. Sirius was shocked.

"What do you mean?" he hissed back, "I told you, he's-"

"Don't give me that! I know that you're lying, when I talked to Lily, he had a sick father, and James said his grandmother was ill!" She reprimanded lightly in his ears. Sirius cursed under his breath, and Ella looked triumphant.

"I can't tell you. I promise though, that when he gets back, he will. Please trust me." Sirius whispered. Ella looked back up, and stared him in the eye. He looked so pained, and so upset by whatever the answer was that Ella did push him, but he had said that Remus would be back, and that rested some of her worries for the moment at least.

"Can you please try to look as though you're having fun?" Dani complained in Mat's ear. He sighed.

" I would, but as you're not then I don't see the point!" he argued.

"What do you mean? I'm having fun!" she lied.

"No, you're too busy watching Ella and Black have fun!" he said, annoyed. Dani quickly redirected her line of vision. "What do you see in him anyway?"

Dani tried her best to look unconcerned. The song sped up, and he spun her around.

"I don't know what you're talking about! If I liked Sirius then why would I be here with a great guy like you?"

Matt smiled, and pulled her in after the twirl, pressing his lips against hers. Dani didn't pull away.

James and Rosie were dancing flamboyantly, flaying across the dance floor, their faces red, stepping quickly and lightly to the fast song. James swung her this way and that, never once missing a move, and Rosie followed, laughing all the while. James was scared to have fun. He knew that he would feel guilty if he did. Even though he wasn't there with Lily, he didn't want to lead Rosie on. _What's coming to the ball with her then? -_Said a little voice in his head, but James ignored the voice, and danced on, trying his hardest not to enjoy himself.

Peter cringed, as he stood on his date's feet for the thousandth time that night, each as embarrassing as the last. This was a horrible idea; he didn't know how he had let the others talk him in to coming to the ball. Not to mention that his date looked, in his opinion, like a troll. She screwed up her nose every time that he got nearer to her than necessary, and stood on the feet, or squeezed her hands too tight. Not to mention that his hands were becoming increasingly sweaty, and he couldn't get a chance to wipe them on his robes; the mood of the song had changed again, and they were dancing a slow step, swaying from side to side. This was easier. There weren't as many movements for him to mess up…

Lily cursed herself silently for dancing with Carl. If he was going to kiss her at the tables he was most certainly going to here. Vaguely she registered other kissing couples, a girl dressed in pink somewhere to her left was snogging some boy, but she ignored them, and hoped that Carl would too. She had to survive.

Someone else had seen the snogging couple too. And Sirius had a plan. He marched right up to the Hobgoblins, and demanded that they change the song. A speedy, jumpy number was played, and when Dani and Matt still didn't pull apart as many others did, he pointed his wand at his throat.

"SIRIUS! No! WHAT ARE YOU-" Ella screamed, reaching the front where he stood.

"Engorous!" he cried, and jumped onto the stage.

"OK EVERYONE!" Sirius's voice was magically magnified over the stunned mass of students. Dani and Matt pulled apart, and she looked at Sirius, stunned. Ella groaned.

"SWAP PARTNERS! WER'RE GONNA PROGRESS NOW!" he roared somewhat lamely, but, being a marauder had it's uses, and people usually listened to Sirius Black, so there was a swinging a swapping at every verse.

"Quietus." Sirius muttered, pointing his wand at his throaty again, and he leapt off the table and linked onto Dani's arm, swinging her around flamboyantly.

"What the hell did you do that for Black!" Dani yelled as he spun her around and drew her in close.

"I was saving you." He hissed at her, grinning. He looked across to where Matt was dancing with Margaret, his nose screwed up.

"Saving me! Sirius, I don't need to be saved! Especially not by YOU!" Dani screamed, and Sirius twirled her around, and stepped in and out, still grinning.

"So you're saying that you wanted to snog that prat?' he asked cockily. The expression on his face only made Dani angrier.

"Yes! As a matter of fact I did, and if I didn't I would have saved MYSELF thankyou very much!" she yelled back, over the music. Sirius wasn't grinning anymore.

"So, how's your night been?" said James when he and Lily danced, on the other side of the dance floor. She shrugged, and he squeezed her hand.

"That bad huh?" he asked.

"He tried ton kiss me! I'm so glad that Sirius did that!" she laughed a little. "They really are funny, aren't they…" she trailed off.

" Listen, I need to explain…" James said, "I wanted to…I mean, I…" he trailed off, and Lily came closer. Their lips were almost touching now, and neither was pulling away. Both mouths were curved into content smiles, when-

"CHANGE!" roared Sirius's voice over the crowd. His face was red from arguing with Dani, and he stormed through the crowd and over to Ella. Jumping at the chance, Rosie ripped James' arm out of Lily's grasp, and she found herself back in Carl's arms.

"SIRIUS BLACK I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" cried James, but Sirius barely heard him. He was breathing heavily, and Ella was trying, without success, to calm him down.

"What does she…." He stopped, and took a deep breath, per Ella's instructions. "What does she… what does she see in that…that…that" he groaned, and Ella patted him awkwardly on the back.

"Will you kiss me?" he asked Ella, who recoiled.

"What! No!" she exclaimed. Sirius sighed.

"Yeah, probably best, Remus would kill me. Looks like James will now too, don't know why, but it seems like I stuff everything up, don't I!" he cried, and slumped against a table. Ella took him by the hand and led him outside the hall, through the entrance hall, and out into the garden. The grounds were deserted, and a faint rumbling could be heard coming from the great hall, thousands of feet moving across the dance floor, the dregs of the band wafting through the walls.

Sirius sat on the ground, and spilled the night's events to Ella.

Inside, Lily was trying desperately not to make eye contact with Carl, and in her mind, was ignoring his constant recounts of Quidditch saves he had made and awards he had won, and relived the few moments she had had with James. Carl was growing impatient with her reluctance to meet his eyes, and his eyes darted back to where Dani and Matt danced suggestively.

Dani, meanwhile, was kicking herself for the way she had handled things with Sirius. Why couldn't she just get over him? Or go out with him, but after all they had been through, that was out of the picture.

"I'm getting tired." Said Lily, pulling away from Carl as soon as she knew that she could get away with that excuse.

"Sure, I'll come back up to the common room with you!" he said, putting his arm around her shoulders. Lily shook it off, her long red hair entangled in his arms. "I'm fine, I can get their myself. Besides, the parties not over yet, you can stay here, it looks like Rosie's alone, go and talk to her.

Lily hurried out of the great hall, before realising what she had said.

If Rosie was alone, then that meant…

"Hey Lily." Came a voice from behind her. James came up from his place beside the door of the Great Hall. He had been sitting on the floor of the entrance hall. Lily smiled, and he slipped his hand into hers.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him. James laughed.

"I didn't want to spend any longer than I had too with that girl. She's painful, and besides, I wanted to wait out here for Sirius."

"Why? To check that he's ok?" she asked him, concerned.

"No! To kill the bastard!" James laughed, pounding his hands together, and even Lily giggled.  
"Good, I made you laugh." James said, making their way back to Griffindore Tower. The music from the hall seemed to echo through the castle.

"Fillet of a fenny snake." Said James to the portrait, and she let them into the deserted common room.

"Are you really tired?" James asked Lily, smiling. She shook her head. "No, but I have to be up in my dorm when Carl comes up, we cant hang out here…" she trailed off. "Can I come up to your dorm?" Lily asked sheepishly.

"Hmm, lovely lady in the boys dormitory…" he teased a look of mock concentration on his face. Lily hit him over the back of the head.

"Shut up Potter, watch yourself." She said, and they went upstairs.

Throwing herself down onto Remus's bed, Lily let out a massive sigh of relief. She was safe now. The ball was over, and she and James were still on speaking terms. She had survived.

"You ready to go back?" Ella asked Sirius, and he shook his head sadly.

"I think I'll just go to bed. Do you mind? Sorry I've been such a bad date." He apologised. Ella shook her head.

"Don't apologise, I wasn't a little ray of sunshine myself. Guess I wasn't going to be happy unless I was here with…" she trailed off. She didn't have to finish the sentence. Sirius and Ella got up, and walked to the Griffindore common room.

"Guess they're all still at the ball." Sirius said when they got into the room and looked around. It was silent and still, and no one was there.

'I thought that Lily or James might be here, but I guess they're having fun now…" Ella said. Sirius snorted in disagreement.

"Do you want to come up?" he asked her from the door to the guys' dormitory. "It's stupid going into separate rooms, and I don't want to be here when Dani comes up." He said. Ella shrugged, and followed Sirius up the staircase.

"…She'll come round, she's jus- oh! Hey!" said Ella, as they opened the door of the dorm only to find Lily and James already there. Lily was lying on Remus's bed, spread out as though she was talking to the roof and James was sitting cross-legged on his own, laughing at something Lily had said. They stopped when the others entered the room.

"I know that I said I'd kill you Padfoot, but you seem pretty down, so I'll let this one slide." James joked, and Sirius flopped onto his bed like Lily had, and Ella took a seat next to Lily.

"How was your night?" Lily asked Ella quietly.

"Better than the one Remus had, I'll bet. Imagine having to take of your sick mother when you're friends are at a ball!"

"Actually it was his grandmother."

"It was his dad." Said James and Lily at the same instant, and Ella laughed bitterly.

"Listen, I don't know why the three of you have been lying to me, but what ever it is, I'm going to find out, I don't care if you wont tell me, Remus will, I know it." She said fiercely, and Lily would have almost believed her hopeful voice, but for the truth that she was hiding. She knew that no matter how much Ella begged to know the truth Remus would avoid it with even wilder, more stupid excuses.

"Well, that wasn't a very successful night for any of us, was it?" asked James.

"I don't know." Said Sirius cynically; "Dani seemed to have a pretty successful night."

He sighed.

They all lay there in silence, before Carl Watson burst through the door. The cheerful grin that he wore slid off his face when he saw who was already lying around the room.

"Oh…Hey." He said, giving Lily a suspicious look, and moving over to his bed. Lily groaned inwardly. So much for not being caught by Carl.

"Um, we'd better get to bed. Sorry I made you come here Lily." Said Ella loudly, trying to salvage the hopeless situation. Getting up of the bed, Lily and Ella headed to the door. Sirius was still staring at the roof, but James had risen from his position on the bed, and made to move to the door with the girls, but he caught sight of Carl, and stopped.

"Um, goodnight, ok." He said to them.

"Night." Said Lily, and turned away, but just before the door closed behind her she snuck one last look at James.

Sweet dreams-he mouthed. Lily grinned, and headed back to their dormitory. Maybe the night hadn't been totally unsuccessful after all.

When they got to their dormitory, they found Dani all alone, sitting on her bed, wearing a simular expression to the one they had left Sirius wearing a couple of seconds previous.

"Dani, are you alright?" Lily asked, putting on her pyjamas and wiping off her makeup. Dani didn't move.

"Why, why, why did I say YES?" she gulped, and Ella sat down next to her.

"Yes to what?" she asked.

"I think I'm going out with Matt." She said, almost crying. Lily hid a snort.

"You spent the whole night snogging him, yet that thought upsets you? I'll never figure you out Dan." She said, and Ella hid a giggle, loyalty to her friend keeping it back, even though she had been the one comforting Sirius the entire night.

"Tell him the truth." She suggested helpfully. Dani looked at her.

"Which is?"

"That you don't like him, he's a bad kisser, and you are madly in love with Sirius Black." She supplied. Dani cringed, then broke down sobbing. Ella hid her laugh and hugged her friend. Lily, however, had little sympathy to spare. Her stupid antics had cost her James tonight, and she wasn't ready to be so forgiving to Dani's little kissing fest. If it weren't for her then maybe Carl wouldn't have been so obsessive!

The girls went to bed that night, hardly ready to sleep, the excitement of that night causing through their veins, and it was a long time before any of them finally drifted into an uncomfortable, marauder-filled dream.


	11. come out, come out, where ever you are

Come Out, Come out, Wherever you are…

In the morning, Remus was, once again, sleeping in their dormitory, with a great scratch across his nose and tired, blood shot eyes. He lay there all day, and the excuses provided to the teachers and other students were much more complementary than the ones that they had provided the night before.

"How are you feeling Moony?" asked James, before leaving the dormitory that morning. Carl and the other boy in their dormitory, Jason, never asked too many questions. They thought that he had gotten into a tough fight at the ball, and they were a lot more concerned about the clouds and wind that filled the autumn air, worried that it would effect their flying, when they mucked around on the Quidditch pitch that day.

Everyone rose late that Saturday morning, tired students emerging from their dormitories well into the morning. Many people could be seen around midday, wandering around the lake or the grounds, munching on toast or sipping coffee. No one could be bothered to do very much.

The girls sat around the beech tree on the grounds, when Sirius and James joined them. Sirius and Dani spoke nothing about the previous night. In fact, they didn't speak at all. Ella sat between them, trying to force conversation, without avail, and she soon gave up, Dani mad about Sirius's stunt, and Sirius mad that she had kissed Matt.

Lily and James, however, though they didn't talk of what had almost happened at the ball, were as close as ever, and sat side-by-side, laughing and joking, and watching the others argue. It was a favourite pastime of theirs, and it seemed like the whole ball was finally going to be put behind them.

Lupin joined them around midday, and sat down casually next to Ella. The whole group fell silent.

"How's your mum?" asked James, as a sort of prompt. Lupin looked confused.

"My mum? She's fine. At least, I think she's fine, I haven't spoken to her since last week, I really should owl her…" he said vaguely. James hit his head against the tree in anguish, and Lupin looked stunned.

"It's a girl, isn't it?" said Ella in a very business like tone. Lupin looked at her, confused. James made a funny noise, like humour mixed with disbelief.

"What's a girl?" Remus asked with a growing sense that all reason had left the conversation. "My Mother? Yes of course she's a girl, I…"

" No Remus, where you were last night! You were with a girl. I don't know why you can tell Lily and you can't tell me, I mean, it's not like I-Never mind." She stoped herself.

Lupin bowed his head. He was relieved. He thought he had done something wrong. But now for the new problem. How could he lye his way out of this one?

"Remus, I think you shoul-"

"I know what you think I should do Lily!" He argued.

"Then why don't you-"

"No!" he replied angrily. Lupin got up and left the tree, walking back up to the castle, frustrated with himself.

Lily felt something hard in the pockets of her robes. She dug her hands into the pocket and drew out the ting green book that she had taken from the library all those weeks ago. With the frenzy of the ball, and Lupin, she had forgotten all about her and James' little excursion to the library, but now that she had found the book again, her curiosity was sparked.

Opening the book, Lily drew herself form the conversation the others were having about the upcoming Quidditch game and settled herself with her back against the tree.

Lily looked at the strange writing on the cover, puzzled. She hoped that the rest of the book would be legible to her, and opened the small covers.

Gemstones have been used throughout the history of the wizarding world for many reasons, magical, healing, in potions, and for divination purposes.

"Lily!" said James voice sharply, cutting into her thoughts. She snapped the book shut, briskly. "Look at Sirius's face." He whispered urgently. Coming back from the clouds, Lily noticed that the atmosphere under the tree had changed dramatically, with the arrival of Matt. He had sat himself down next to Dani, setting his hand on top of hers, which she didn't object to. Matt wore a smug smile on his handsome face, but Sirius looked simply contorted. He looked as though he had just swallowed something vile, and it didn't agree with him at all. James and Lily cast around for an idea that would break the tension that hung on the air like a blanket, and James threw the first wild suggestion out of his foolish mouth.

"Lets go for a walk!" he yelled, jumping to his feet. Mat helped Dani to hers, not letting go of her hand, and Sirius stood himself, his gaze never leaving Dani and Matt's faces, and, if it did, it was only to glance at their entwined hands, jealously.

Lily jumped up too. She knew where this would lead, and, when Ella finally stood, leisurely and musingly, to her feet, she blurted out what James considered to be an even stupider idea.

"No, lets play hide and seek!" she screamed. They looked at her blankly, and Matt even snorted. Sirius growled at him. "No, I'm serious! Ella, you're in, come on!" she grabbed James by the hand and ran off into the edge of the forest. James was laughing as he followed her. When they finally took refuge under a low lying, shady tree, not far from Hagrid's house, James slumped to the ground, chuckling.

"What was that Evans? Hide and Seek?" he laughed, as Lily sat down, and leant on the tree next to him.

"Well I had to amend your stupid mistake! Seriously, 'lets go for a walk?' you know what that would have turned into, don't you? I now Mat was thinking 'lets go for a romantic walk around the lake' and Ella was surely all 'lets go for a walk so that nobody will notice when I brood over Remus'!" she argued. James' eyes grew wide.

"Whoa, that was one bad suggestion!" James said. Lily messed up his hair playfully, and laughed.

"You saved the day." He said, widening his eyes and looking at him sweetly.

"Don't give me that look!" she laughed, and turned away. James caught hold of her arm, and turned her around to face him. He was inches away from her face now. James was leaning closer, and Lily was grinning contently.

"What's that?" whispered Lily, pulling away, and looking towards the next tree. James sat up straight, frustrated with himself, and listened. A soft sobbing noise was coming from a few trees away, and Lily quietly stood up, taking care not to step on any loose branches or dead leaves. She walked lightly to behind a the tree. The sobbing was louder and clearer now, and Lily walked around and sat herself down beside Ella, whose head was in her hands.

Ella looked up when she felt Lily beside her.

"Why can he tell you, and he can't tell me?" she sobbed, into Lily's shoulder. "Why can you know, and I like him so much…" Lily put her arm around her friend, and cursed Remus's stubbornness.

"Believe me Ella, the only reason that he wont tell you is that he cares about you too much…" she whispered. Ella looked up.

"Why would that matter? What could possibly change the way that I think of him?" she sighed. Lily wished that she could tell her, but her loyalty and conscience weighed her down, and she found herself leading Ella back to James silently, Ella wiping her eyes as they went.

"Ella! You alright?" James asked. Ella nodded glumly, and they broke up again to hide. Lily lay in the undergrowth of the forest, and she could see James doing the same a couple of metres away. He looked back at her, and flashed a charming grin, winking. Lily shook with silent giggles.

Lily froze. Someone was walking down the pathway of the forest, and they weren't making any effort to stay silent. She could hear leaves and rocks being kicked out of the way, and a profound mumbling could be heard floating through the trees, grumpily. Lily and James exchanged startled looks.

"'I'm in'…yeah right…more like that bastards 'in and I'm on my way out…wow. That was good. I should use that when other people are around…" Sirius muttered. A laugh came from James bush, and Sirius stopped short, plunging his hand into the bush and pulling James out by the hair.

"Oi! Other people were around you idiot!" James screeched, laughing all the same. Sirius smirked mockingly.

"Haha, I'm so glad you find joy from my pain Prongs." He said, and then, abruptly, dropped to his knees.

"Come out, come out wherever you are…" he said in a sing song voice, looking down underneath bushes. James raised his eyebrows at Sirius.

"Uh, Padfoot, what are you doing?" he asked, thinning that his friend had finally cracked, and looking down at the grovelling man sceptically.

"Seriously Padfoot, I'm not that thick! If you're here then Lily's under there somewhere!" James laughed at Sirius, whose fingertips were inches away from where Lily had rolled, to the other side of the bush.

"Not his time." James said. Sirius stared, and got to his feet again.

"Why? What happened?" he asked. James snorted.

"What do you mean what happened?" he asked. James crossed his fingers behind his back, hoping that Sirius's blatant interrogating wouldn't break the act.

"Why aren't you two together? I mean, that's not normal, something must have happened." He said, leaning up against a tree.

"Padfoot, I think we'd better get out of here, go and find the others…"

"I don't want to find the others! Lets keep talking!" he argued, so forcibly that James actually settled in himself, sitting on a nearby rock.

"It's true, nothings happened." James said.

"But you still like her, don't you mate?" he asked casually. James cursed inside his head.

"Um, yeah, yeah I do." He said quietly.

"What? Speak up! I can't hear you!" said Sirius. James groaned.

"Yes I do!" he said loudly. I the shrub nearby, Lily froze, with a massive smile on her face.

"Oh, good. Because when you didn't get in there with the ball, I was a little worried, but…"

"You can't talk to me about asking people to the ball!" James laughed. "Hypocrite!"

Sirius scowled. "Yeah, but Lily would have wanted to go with you. That is a totally different situation."

"That's what you think. Sometimes I thought that she would…but she seemed to have an ok time with Carl…" James argued, temporarily forgetting who was lying in the bushes.

"An ok time with Carl? I think she had a better time when she was dancing with you, to tell you the truth…Why didn't you ask her out or…I don't know, kiss her?" Sirius asked.

"Oh! You noticed us dancing did you?" James yelled, annoyed. Sirius looked blank.

"James, you're James Potter and Lily Evans, I think the entire school noticed that you were dancing." Sirius said. James stood independent to the tree.

"Oh really? Well then you would know that I was going to kiss her if it wasn't for you and your stupid little crisis!" James said, getting carried away. Sirius smiled despite his friend's anger.

"You were! That's great!" he laughed at the furious look on James' face.

"What's funny? I am really mad at you!" James argued.

"That's what's funny Prongs old pal, you don't know how to be mad at me, it's quite comical." And he laughed, sliding down the tree.

"Oh shut up and come find the others. I think we need to start the game over, it doesn't seem to be working.

"It wouldn't. I'm the one finding them, and so far all I've got is a love-sick stag!" and their laughs dissolved down the pathway.

When they got back into the open, they found Matt, Dani and Ella sprawled out on the grass.

"Anyone seen Evans?" asked Sirius when they got there, ignoring the couple who had chose that moment to start snogging.

"Um…" James begun, but he didn't need to create an excuse, because at that moment, a panting Lily came bursting out of the forest, her robes smeared with dirt, twigs and leaves, but her face holding a huge grin none the less.

"I'm here!" she said, plonking herself down ion the grass next to Ella.

"Why are you looking so happy?" Ella asked. James turned around quickly, and Lily wiped the smile off her face just as fast, blankening her face.

"I'm not." She said, making sure not to meet James' eye.

"So, who's in?" Dani asked, and they all looked at her. "What?" she got to her feet begrudgingly. "Oh fine. It's actually been pretty fun so far! Who would have thought!" and she pecked Matt the cheek before turning to face a tree, and covering her eyes. Dani began to count loudly, and her friends hurried off.

Lily took a position behind Hagrid's over grown hedges, and James ran for the reeds near the lake. Ella ducked into the forest, Matt ran somewhere back near the castle, and Sirius hid behind Hagrid's house, pressing himself against the wall.

Dani finished counting, and looked around. She seemed to be able to feel eyes peering in on her from all sides, and she didn't think that she liked the sensation. Dani grew close to where Lily was hidden, and Lily gasped as she felt herself begin to shrink. Her skin seemed to tighten first, and them her limbs became shorter, protruding into her body, until she was only ten centimetres tall, looking up at Dani, who was staring up into the foliage of the hedges. Lily shrieked, but all that could be heard was nothing more than the squeal of a mouse, and she ran over to the foot of scrub, so that Dani didn't step on her. When Dani seemed sure that none of her sneaky friends where hiding there, she stalked off, muttering to herself, her eyes darting about this way and that.

What seemed like a giant, invisible hand picked Lily up and she felt herself floating in mid air on the invisible platform, screaming, and not knowing what was going to happen to her. She was screaming so loudly that she barely heard the soft laugh that came from above her. Lily felt as though she had walked through a veil, and she looked up. James huge face was peering down at her, smiling. He ran behind a tree, and pointed his wand at her, Lily breathed a sigh of relief, and she felt herself stretch.

"What the _hell_ did you do that for?" she asked, smiling all the same. James arms were around her waist, and they were very near, huddled under the invisibility cloak. James swept the stray strand of hair that caressed Lily's forehead out of her eyes, and looked deep into them, smiling serenely.

"I couldn't let you get caught before I did this." He leaned forward, and, for the first, glorious time, their lips finally met. Lily didn't want to pull away, ever, and James held her close, until the night began to fall, the dappled light that fell through the branches of the forest became dim, and they left to find the others.

Not far away from James and Lily, Dani was still looking for her friends. It was sunset, and she had been looking for a half an hour. Ella, she was sure, had gone back up to the castle, and Lily and James were no doubt together somewhere, but she knew that Matt and Sirius were still out there somewhere, and neither would forgive her for finding the other one first.

The again, maybe no one was still on the grounds. Maybe this had been their plan from the beginning…

Dani jumped as she heard something move a little to her left. She was striding around Hagrid's hut, with little conviction, and she had such little faith in finding her friends, that she was readying herself to pat Fang the boarhound when he rounded the corner, but the big dog didn't come, and Dani stepped around the edge of the house gingerly. The lights were off inside. Hagrid wasn't home. There was no smoke coming from the chimney. "Gotcha!" she yelled, when she turned the corner, but she was disappointed. No one stood there, but she was sure that she caught a glimpse of black robes and hair turning the corner, and she kept going, quieter this time, until she reached the corner.

"Gotcha!" she screamed leaping around the corner and tackling Sirius to the ground, landing on top of the boy, who had been pushed into the vegetable patch.

Sirius was stunned, and smiled up at Dani, whose eyes were wide, and shocked at herself.

"Yes you did Doyle." He said slyly, and grinned. Sirius saw Dani begin to grin back, but he knew that it couldn't last long.

"Dani!" came a deep voice. Dani rolled off Sirius and stood above him, as Matt rounded the other corner.

"Dani! What are you- Black. Hello." He turned back to his girlfriend, who looked guilty.

"I've been looking for you. I'm going inside. It's dark, and I just saw Lily and James head in, so…" he looked from one of them to the other. "You coming?" he asked Dani. Dani took a quick look at Sirius, and smirked, so as not to loose face. She was still mad at him for last night.

"Sure, come on." She said, and linked her arm through Matts, giggling happily, without another glance back at Sirius, who was still lying on his back in Hagrid's vegetable patch. He watched them climb the slope to the castle, until they were swallowed up in darkness.

"What the ruddy hell do you think you're doin'!" Hagrid bellowed, walking through his hut and out the other side, until he was standing above Sirius, "Black. Well, I don't thank you for ruinin' my vegetables, but I shoulda' known eh? Come inside an' we'll clean yeh up." Hagrid said, and lifted Sirius up from the ground by his robes, and carried him inside.

While the others played outside on the grounds, Remus Lupin had sat, glumly, in his dormitory all day, staring out the window at his friends having childish fun. It wasn't until late that afternoon, just before sunset, that he had any company.

When the sky had become a golden colour, and he was relishing the sight of it over the forest, Lupin heard a soft knock on the dormitory door. It couldn't have been any of the marauders; they wouldn't knock to come into their own dormitory. It was probably, he decided, Lily, coming to tell him off about his situation with Ella, and he ignored the first few light taps.

"Remus I know you're in there, let me in!" came a determine, yet timid voice from behind the wooden door.

"Come in." he replied, and Ella stepped into the room, walked across, and took a seat next to Lupin, by the window.

"Listen, I don't know what this thing is, but nothing could make me like you any less, I promise. And I have decided that, even if you don't want to tell me your secret, I like you anyway, and you should know that, because, well, because…I don't know why, but you had to know, because I think I'd burst if I didn't tell yo-"

"Ella, I'm a werewolf." Remus blurted out. Ella stoped short, and turned to stare at him.

"What?" she asked quietly. Remus sighed.

"I'm a werewolf. I would have asked you out, I really do like you, but you deserve better than me. I cant…you cant…" he sighed again, and ignored the expression on Ella's face, "I can't let you do that. I hate that you like me. It only makes not being with you even harder." He finished, and it was a while before either of them spoke. It was a while before either of them moved. Ella quietly slid her hand into Remus's, and he twitched, surprised. She gave him a small smile.

"That's what you couldn't tell me?" she whispered. "It's not your fault Remus. I don't care. I like you too-"

"No! I cant Ella! Don't you understand! Don't you get what happens to me every month! What if I hurt you! I already hurt Lily! I don't want to do that to you!" he argued hopelessly.

"I don't care! Don't you understand? I don't care! It's my choice. The only question is, do you like me? Because the rest of it, it doesn't matter." she said softly. Remus leant forward, and he kissed her softly at first, but Ella drew closer, and Remus Lupin was truly happy, for the first time in ages.


	12. Remus Doesn't Know What?

Doesn't Remus know what?…

That night, there was no sitting around the common room laughing and talking. Everyone was so tired from the ball and the excitable day that they hurried straight up to their dormitories and lay ion their beds, huge smiles plastered on each of the girls faces. Sirius was the only one absent from the boys' dormitory, and he wasn't returned until late that night.

James woke up to a loud bang.

"Ow." Muttered someone, who was passing the foot of his bed.

"Whozair?" whispered James. Sirius sat down at the end of James bed, cradling his toe.

"It's only me." Sirius said. James sat up.

"Where were you?" he asked. "Not with Dani?"

"No, not with Dani. With Hagrid actually. She's a lot prettier." Sirius laughed.

"What were you doing down there?" James asked.

"Spilling my heart to Hagrid, I guess. He found me lying in his vegetable garden-It's a long story." He said preposterously. James cracked an unseen smile in the dark.

"So what did you get up too?" Sirius asked shrewdly, "Matt told us that you and Lily went back up to the castle."

"Yeah, yeah, we did." James said vaguely.

"So…what did you get up to? How was your afternoon?" Sirius asked. James beamed, reminiscing about dusk, and thinking that if he was going to tell Sirius then he had better tell him now.

"Well, er, we…well we…I sort of…" James couldn't seem to get the words out. He felt like he was jinxing his own good luck, and he didn't want to see the triumphant look on Sirius face when he found out the cause for James' stuttering.

"I kissed her." He said very quickly. Sirius' jaw dropped open, and he let out a triumphant whoop.

"Way to go Prongs! I knew you too had it in you! Finally!" Sirius roared. There was an exhausted murmur from the next bed.

"What on earth is all that noise?" said Remus quietly, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "Is he talking in his sleep again James?"

"Doesn't Remus know?" said Sirius excitably. This was the only good news any of them had had in romance for a very long time, and Sirius found it a great cause to celebrate.

"Doesn't Remus know what?" Lupin asked happily, crawling over to sit next to Sirius on the edge of James' bed.

"Doesn't Remus know bout James and Lily!" Sirius screamed, jittery.

"No he doesn't! What about James and Lily? Did you kiss her?" Lupin said excitably. James nodded in the dim light, a huge grin on his face, and Lupin, too, let out an appreciative whoop.

"Finally!" he laughed. There was a truly loud snore form the region of Carl's bed, and the marauders exchanged looks. Maybe the rest of the dormitory wasn't as asleep as they thought that they were.

They were quick to notice that, once the shock of the good news had worn off, as it had done for Sirius, Lupin's face remained carved into a splendid grin.

"What are you so happy about?" Sirius asked him. Lupin shook his head. He didn't know weather he wanted them to know what a brilliant afternoon he had had. For one thing, he didn't like the idea of Carl being able to hear what they were talking about, and for another thing, admitting that telling her had been no problem would be admitting that they had been right all along, and Lupin did not want to have to tell them that.  
"Nothing. I'm just in a good mood I guess." He said happily, and slid back over into his own bed. Sirius did the same, and they all drifted off to sleep. In fact, the last person to finally close his eyes, in the dormitory, was Carl Watson, because when you have a plan forming in your mind, it is always very hard to fall asleep…

The girls got down to breakfast first the next morning. Ella and Lily wanted to wait for the Marauders to come down in the common room before they left, but Dani wouldn't hear a word of it. Happy as she was for them, she was determined not to give Sirius any opportunities to entice her the way he had the previous afternoon.

"Besides." She said, as they got dressed, "I have to meet Matt downstairs." The others rolled their eyes. As happy as they were that Dani was seemingly, 'happy' Matt didn't fit into their group at all, and a conversation with him often was filled to the brim with awkward silences.

"Hey Lily!" called Carl from the other side of the Griffindore table, when Ella, Dani and Lily had taken their seats.

"Oh no, not him, keep your heads down, maybe he wont talk to us…" Lily muttered, amid sniggers from her friends. Too late. Carl Watson was edging his way along the table, and the walked up behind Lily and rested his hands on her shoulders.

"Well done! James told me all bout it! Didn't know you were so easy Evans! Should have chosen me you know; I'd brag a lot less, but I'll leave you to it." He said, causing everyone around her to glance curiously, but none more so than the ones that she received form Ella and Dani.

"What," hissed Dani, "Was all that about?" Lily was heaving with fury, and her eyes darted precariously towards the tall, double doors, waiting for James to come strutting through them.

"I can't believe he told _Carl_." She whined angrily, and the other two exchanged shocked, curious expressions, which Lily met with a battered sigh.

"James and I kissed." She murmured to her friends. Their eyes grew wide, and Ella dropped the toast that she was buttering so that it slid to the floor.

"You and James WHAT?" Dani hissed. There was no time for explaining. The marauders strode through the open doors a split second later, and, shelving her anger, Lily turned her back, and wouldn't look at any of them as they entered the hall and took their usual seats opposite the girls.

"Morning." Said James and the others murmured simular.

"Morning Peter, Remus, Sirius." Said Lily, aloof, not looking in James direction once. He swapped incredulous looks with Sirius.

"Um, hi?" said James attentively. No one said anything. All that could be heard was a snigger from down the table. Sirius, Remus and James turned to see Carl hi-fiving Jason, and James cursed, and slunk his head down into his hands.

"James, you're hairs in the marmalade." Said Ella politely. Lupin reached for it, at the same time that Ella had, and their hands met briefly. She caught his eye, and giggled at his lopsided grin. Their eyes darted to make sure that no one had noticed.

"Lily." James hissed over the table, "What ever that guy said to you is a-"

"I don't want to hear it James." She argued back. James groaned in frustration.

"No, you don't get it! I didn't do anything wrong, what ever he's been spreading is-"

"So what? You didn't get back up to the dormitory last night and brag about what…what we did yesterday?" she lowered her voice, and leaned closer over the table, so that she was talking in barely a whisper.

"No! I mean, I told Lupin and Sirius, but I didn't talk about it or anything! Carl's just trying to make trouble because he's jealous. I think that the whole school will be jealous when they find out, I mean, I got to kiss Lily Evans!" James said proudly. Lily hit him over the back of the head with her spoon.

"That's exactly the sort of behaviour that I was scared about! And besides, It seems like we won't have long to wait…" she said, all anger at James gone. James looked towards where she was indicating, and saw that Carl was darting across the hall, talking to people in frenzied whispers, and eyes seemed to press in on them from all directions. Lily groaned.

"Listen, while no one else is listening, I had a look at that book that I borrowed…" James gave her a sharp, accusatory look, and Lily begrudgingly corrected herself. "Ok, the one that I stole, it's beside the point. Something that night made me pick it up, and it's about gemstones…there might be something in it about…" she trailed of, and looked at Lupin. A huge smile was painted on his tired face, which Lily registered as unusual. He looked genuinely happy, something that she had not witnessed in a long while.

"Really? You think?" he whispered back, "I'll have a look, shall I? Come up to our dorm tonight, we'll talk about it then."


	13. the trouble with Fudge

The trouble with Fudge and the Order of the Phoenix…

Their first class that morning was Defence Against the Dark Arts. Professor Fudge, the new teacher at the school, wasn't very popular among the students. He was known for his pompous manner, though he was quite young. Fudge seemed as though he would be better suited for politics, rather than teaching the students how to defend themselves.

James groaned as he looked at his timetable.

"I can't believe they've got that guy teaching us! What was Dumbledore thinking?" he whined. Lily and Sirius clucked sympathetically, as they walked down the halls to Fudge's classroom.

"Oh well, we only have to put up with him for a year." Lily consoled him.

"I think the rest of the school will only have to put with him for a year too." Said Sirius, "He's the defence teacher; when have we ever had one of them who has lasted for more than a year?" the others laughed, reminiscing about some of the jobs previous occupants, including a cat crazy squib and a man old man who was obsessed with muggles.

"True. I just hope that Fudge gets us through exams ok…he doesn't seem to want to admit that there's anything wrong with the world!" Lily argued. It was true. Fudge seemed oddly reluctant to admit that any one of his pupils were in danger, much less himself. Anything to do with Lord Voldermort was treated with the vague wiping away of questions, and he seemed to get nervous a lot, twirling his lime green bowler hat in his hands as he strode across the room superiously.

James raised his hand. "Excuse me sir." He prompted, when failed to acknowledge James wavering limb. "Sir? I was wondering if you could answer a question?"

"Certainly." Fudge said, and then turned his back briskly on James and walked in the opposite direction.

"Sir?" said James, "My question?"

"Oh! I assumed that you had asked it already, and I gave my answer, certainly, but, if you want to ask another then I suppose that that wouldn't be the end of the world." Said Fudge, clearly struggling to buy himself time. He dreaded his lessons with James Potter. The boys flashing hand in the air was a beacon of dread for the teacher, who asked questions of a grave manner. When Cornelius had taken the job, he assumed that it would be a leg up in his career; where he really wanted to be was at the ministry, but, what with all the attacks at present, he felt that it would be best if he took a back seat for now, and see where life took him once the so-called war was over.

So, it was no surprise that James Potter's interrogations about Voldermort and how to defend unforgivable curses and what not put Fudge on the edge, and that it was with dread that he faced the current one.

"Thankyou sir." Said James politely, not wanting to give Fudge an excuse to catch him out for bad manners and avoid his questions. "Now, the daily prophet reported this morning that Voldermort was seen near Cattleburg. How would people know? What does he look like?" Fudge picked his bowler hat back up off the floor, and many other students scurried around, recovering items that were flung aside in shock at the mention of Voldermort's name.

"_You know who" _reprimanded Fudge angrily, "looks simular to any other man, I would expect. I would not know, I have not seen him. And besides, I don't think that it's best that we talk about him so openly in this class. There could be spies even in this very room, and if he suspects that people in this school are plotting against him then-"

"Plotting against him?" Lily spoke up, "Excuse me for saying so, sir, but this class is _Defence Against the Dark Arts _Voldermort is a master of the dark arts sir, I think that the very essence of this class is meant to be plotting against him."

"Miss Evans! Kindly do not say his name aloud, I think the entire class would appreciate it, and secondly, I am here to inform you about the types of things out there that you could be faced with, and how to defend yourself. You know who is merely one of these, and I think that if he found out that we had spent a lesson focusing on how to recognise and attack him then-"

"Not a whole lesson!" said Sirius, while James let out a grunt of frustration, and slammed his head on his desk. The rest of the class were looking on with a mixture of excitement and awe. Not many other people would have spoken up to Fudge like that. "James only wanted to know how we would recognise him! It'd be a great look out if we took up the offer to, I don't know, ride of the back of his broom stick, wouldn't it? He could be sitting at the next table in the pub and we wouldn't even know!"

Fudge turned his back to the class and began to write on the board.

"Yes Mr Black, and so I think the lesson here should be not to take lifts from strangers and to never drink in the Hogs head. Now, werewolves." Fudge said, scribbling note on the board. James and Sirius groaned, but James looked livid.

"So much for Defence! That guys an idiot!" James steamed, when they got out of the classroom.

"Calm down James, we can find out some other way…" Lily tried to calm him, but James would not be comforted.

"No Lily! I can't believe it! That guy is so in denial that it's not funny! Do you know what happened the other day? A whole family was killed, all at once, and about a week ago, a dementor took the soul of a six-year-old girl! I mean, it's fine for him! He's got Dumbledore here, protecting him and paying him for it! But he wouldn't last a day in the real world, and thanks to him we might not either!" the corridor that they were in was deserted, and Sirius and Lily gave each other hopeless looks. They couldn't calm James down. They would have to let him keep steaming until it wore off.

"I don't know what Dumbledore playing at! Imagine employing him! HIM! He's hopeless! At least the rest of them knew that there was something wrong! I want to know! I want to know what it's like to be out there, helping! But I'll never be able to this way! What was Dumbledore thinking!" he ranted. Lily and Sirius had frozen.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" came a deep, calm voice from behind James. His eyes widened in shock as he turned around, and found himself face to face with the headmaster.

"Come, I have sometime now, why don't you three have a drink with me in my office. We can talk then Mr Potter, and please, feel free to yell all you want. I am sure that my portraits will appreciate it much more than Madame Pilfer here." A woman in the portrait opposite them nodded appreciatively, and muttered a tiny, "here here."

James nodded, still in shock, and Sirius and Lily followed close behind, nervously. They were exactly scared of Dumbledore, but he gave off an aura that was so calm and collected that it frightened the three. How could a man this composed be the only one that Voldermort ever feared?

"Sugar quills." Dumbledore greeted a stone gargoyle cheerfully, and it sprung aside, revealing a tall, spinning staircase, which he jumped on quite carelessly. The others followed him closely, and they were taken to the top of the staircase, where a large, finely made wooden door stood solemnly. Dumbledore opened it without hesitation. This was obviously his office.

"Take a seat, take a seat." Dumbledore said warmly, gesturing from the three students to three comfy chairs, which sat opposite a rather large and ornate one on the other side of a heavy wooden desk. They didn't take any notice of his at first. They were taking in their surroundings. Dumbledore office rose high above them, with a wonderful glass decorated ceiling, through which light flooded mercifully, dancing on every one of Dumbledore trinkets and gadgets, the most important of which took pride of place on small, spindle legged tables. Massive bookcases rose to the roof, and Fawkes was perched in the corner. Lily whisked over to the bird immediately, and stroked it lightly on the beak, as it gave out a soft, low, musical cry.

Behind Dumbledore desk was a mass of movement and colour, with excited murmurs being issued from the hundred of portraits that adorned this back wall. All the previous headmasters of Hogwarts peered down at the students curiously, and James and Sirius suddenly felt very self-conscious. They had been in McGonagal's office many times, but Dumbledore usually didn't reprimand students. James and Sirius, though they had caused their fair share of trouble over the years, had always fallen short of real mayhem, and Sirius quietly congratulated himself on being here for the first time, under pleasant circumstances.

Once they were done scanning the marvellous room, they took the seats that Dumbledore had offered. The headmaster chuckled at their wonder-filled expressions, and set his hand on the desk in front of him, the fingertips touching lightly.

"How, James, what was it that you wished to talk to me about?" said Dumbledore quietly.

James gulped. He wondered frantically how he was going to complain about Fudge without sounding accusatory. Thankfully, Lily spoke up.

"If you don't mind Professor," said Lily kindly, looking sideways at James and sensing the reason for his silence, "We're quite unhappy with our defence against the dark arts class." Dumbledore hid a smile.

"Is that so, and why," he turned back to James, "why is that?" James, spurred on by the success of the topic, began to rant on about his dislike for Fudge.

"…And he wont admit to anything that has been going on outside the castle! Today he practically told us that if we didn't hitchhike then Voldermort couldn't hurt us!" he yelled Dumbledore's eyes widened.

"Oh, sorry sir, _You-Know-Who…"_apologised James, incorrectly interpreting Dumbledore's wonder.

"No no!" Dumbledore said, shocked, "Fear of a name only increases fear of a thing itself! I was only shocked that you, dear boy, have shown a great amount of resilience in speaking Voldermort's name aloud. I would have thought that you three, who have been brought up fearing the very sound of it, would have been one of those who whimper when it is said!"

James felt a rush of pride at these words, for he had never received such a compliment from Dumbledore, and so carried on in a much less angry manner to the one he had worn earlier.

"Anyway sir, the thing is, no one knows anything about him! He could be anywhere! We want to know what he looks like, how to stop him, what we can do to help, I mean…you should have known sir. I don't mean to sound rude, but why did you let Fudge teach us this year? Why did he even get the job?" James finished. Dumbledore stared at him.

"He got the job, James, because no one else would take the job. The subject would have had to be closed completely, but Professor Fudge said that he would take up the post." Dumbledore said, but his mind wasn't really on the discussion. He was surveying the three teenagers sitting in front of him with the up most curiosity.

"But Professor…" Sirius spoke for the first time since they had entered the room. He seemed entranced by the strange object close to the desk, emitting slight puffs of smoke, but had been soaking in every word of the conversation.

"Sir, is any one really doing anything? I mean, the ministry's out there, but they can't do very much, none of the students here are being taught real defence, what happens when we leave? Is there anyone out there?" he asked somewhat desperately, "Is anyone brave enough to be on our side anymore?"

Sirius looked into Dumbledore's eyes, and saw something seem to flicker in there, behind the sparking blue. Was it pride? Little did they know, that inside Dumbledore's brain was a waging battle between his heart and this common sense. These three kids could be so useful to the order of the phoenix, but they hadn't left school yet. They wanted to help, they wanted to fight, and nothing that he could say was going to stop them. Wasn't it best that they had the help of people like himself, Alastor and Dodge? He looked from Lily's determined eyes, a dazzling green, to James' darkly resolute brown ones. Sirius stared back at the headmaster, anxiously awaiting an answer, and Dumbledore avoided giving the one that he wished that he could. They were too young. Maybe in a year or two, they would be ready to join the Order, but, for the moment, they would have to bide there time. They would have to continue reading the Prophet hopelessly and feel discouraged every time that they read of more deaths and casualties. They couldn't do anything to help. And so they couldn't know about the Order of the Phoenix. It was much too dangerous for them.

"There are people." Dumbledore started, slowly weighing his words, " Who are doing things. Organizations…" Dumbledore trailed off. He couldn't tell them. He couldn't waste their last year of innocence just because there was a war waging outside the castle walls. "And once you have finished school then you shall be able to learn more about them. Until then…" he trailed off. There was nothing else that he could do…he desperately wanted to help the three sitting in front of him, but anything that he could teach them could be used against them, and they could be put in danger. Dumbledore sighed, and turned slightly. A blinking, glittery light caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. A draw in his cabinet was ajar, and something silvery was reflected…

The Pensive 

"However…" said Dumbledore slowly, looking back into their puzzled faces, "There might be something that I can show the three of you, but it must no leave this room, understand. Anything that I show you cannot reach the ears of anyone else, with the exception, I think, of your friend Remus Lupin. I think that it is safe to say that he is trustworthy." They nodded, excited. Lily was scared as to what Dumbledore could show them. Was it something to do with the heliotrope, or anything else that they had heard in the Three Broomsticks?

Dumbledore walked serenely to the cabinet and drew out of it the pensive. Lily, James and Sirius gasped. The contents of the stone basin Dumbledore had produced was like nothing that they had ever seen before. It seemed to be neither solid nor liquid, and it played with their curiosity shamelessly.

He set it down on the desk before them, his old, and tired featured illuminated by the soft glow of the substance.

" This," said Dumbledore, "Is a pensive. You can use it to deposit thoughts, and then revisit them. It makes it easy to see patterns and connections in events and mysteries, as well as remember the exact happenings of an important situation. And, it helps on occasions like this, when I wish for others to revisit my memories." He added on the end. James looked up at Dumbledore, gapping.

"Sir, when you said 'revisit' did you mean…" Lily began.

"Let me show you, shall I miss Evans?" Dumbledore said. "Now, I want you all to do exactly the same thing that I do. And don't panic. Just follow me."

Dumbledore said, and, without further ado, stuck his head into the mysterious substance. Lily gave a small yelp. Dumbledore was falling, falling through the basin. It wasn't possible. There must be no bottom to it. Lily looked under the table. No, it was all there. Just air where it should be, under the desk. Dumbledore was _in_ the pensive.

"Well, he knew that this was going to happen," said James, once the initial shock had worn off, "I guess we have to follow him." He said it begrudgingly, but looked positively gleeful at the idea of following the greatest wizard in the world down into an unknown substance. It was his idea of a great adventure, and so he plunged his head into the pensive, and dived through it, like the headmaster had before him. James gasped. There was nothing there. He kept on falling, though his body seemed oddly weightless. It was a strange sensation, and one that James was not sure that he liked. It was strange practically flying when there was no broom beneath him.

Back up in the headmaster's office, Sirius and Lily were looking down into the pensive, where their friend had just disappeared.

"Ladies before gentlemen" said Sirius, still looking at where James had disappeared.

"Do you really consider yourself a gentlemen Sirius?" Lily teased. Sirius scoffed, jokingly.

"I don't need that form you Evans, I get enough from Doyle!" he said, nudging her towards the pensive's edge. She looked down into its depths. She could faintly see a scene, in which two figures stood close, in the centre, but it was far away, and hard to see. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she dunked her head into the pensive, and felt herself falling forward, colours rushing pat her as she came closer and closer to the scene at the bottom of the pensive.

Sirius glanced around the room. He gave one last look a to thew portraits above the desk, who stared down at him expectantly.

"See you all later!" he said cheerily, and fell into the pensive, coming closer and closer to the three figures at the bottom of it.

"Wonderful." Said Dumbledore, as though the four of them had just witnessed a particularly great performance by a string quartet. He didn't find it strange at all that they had just fallen into what he told them, was a memory, nor that the way they had fallen was now nothing but a stormy grey sky, through which thunder cracked, and lightning lit up the murky night.

"Yes," he said, "We'll be here in a minute…now, I don't want you to be scared when we come. You should know that no one can see you. This all happened two years ago. You can't affect anything. You're only here to watch."

They looked at each other, confused. Dumbledore led them over to a tree, where they stood at its base. Rain fell around them, but it did not soak them, or even make them feel remotely wet. The rain had fallen two years previous.

"I can hear someone coming." Hissed James. Dumbledore smiled darkly.

"Yes, " he said, in regular tones, "I am on my way."

They were severely puzzled, until Dumbledore stepped out of the cluster of trees and into the open a few metres away. Lily, James and Sirius spun around to face where he had just stood, and where shocked to see that he hadn't moved at all. A further inspection of the other Dumbledore; who was now brushing himself down and emptying his hat of water, told them that he was wearing different hued robes, and, if possible, his face was less lined than the one who was standing behind them.

There was a loud pop, and another figure appeared in the clearing. He was hooded, in black robes, which seemed to hang loosely on his tall, delicate frame.

"James, you wished to know what Lord Voldermort looked like…" Dumbledore said quietly. James stammered, and looked back at the man in the hood. He bent back his head slightly, and a sudden strike of lightening illuminated his distorted face.

He was not like any other person they had ever seen in their life. Now they knew how people could tell that it was Voldermort; there was something inhumane about him that was unmistakable, from his long fingered, spider-like hands, to his flat, murky, snake-like face. There was something reptilian about his skin, and his pointed chin, but if there were to be one distinguishing feature about the man, it was his eyes.

Thin, red slits peered out from underneath the hood. They were the eyes of somebody who has never known love, but they weren't just clod and barren; there was a menacing urgency about them, and James shuddered as he looked into their depths, though he couldn't look away.

"Ah, Tom." Said the wet Dumbledore conversationally. James looked at him inquisitorially, but the present day Dumbledore silenced him with a look.

"Dumbledore." Voldermort greeted back, coldly.

"Would you like to explain to me why you wished to meet me here, with no allies? I'll admit that it was quite risky on my part."

"We both know why we are here Dumbledore." Said Voldermort coldly. "I am going to kill you tonight."

"No Tom, no, I don't think that you are. Do you think that I would come here tonight if I believed that it would be my downfall?" Dumbledore said. Voldermort merely sneered.

"Ignorance Dumbledore." He jeered at the headmaster. His calm expression did not shatter, and Dumbledore did not break the gaze.

"I wish to, once again, apply for the position at your school Dumbledore." He said seriously. Dumbledore actually laughed.

"And why do you think that I would agree to that?" his voice cold now, slicing through night air as cold as the icy droplets of rain. "After all that you have done? I think that the answer to that would have been obvious."

"I can harm the school Dumbledore. You know that. I can have every single one of those students destroyed overnight." Voldermort hissed. Dumbledore's features became grey and stony.

"No Tom, that is impossible. Now, tell me the real reason that you came tonight? Is that all? To blackmail me into letting you take over Hogwarts? Because if it is, then it is not at all up to your usual standards! If you wanted to destroy Hogwarts then you would have done so Tom! But you love that school like you have never loved a person! It isn't fear of me that has stopped you all these years; it is fear of loosing the school! And like it or not Tom, every single one of those students is a part of the school." He roared fiercely over the struggle of thunder.

"Now we know why I decided to come here Dumbledore," roared Tom, "But why are you here?"

The slits of his eyes narrowed so that they were no more than thin, red lines, dividing the murky surface of his pupil.

Voldermort whipped out his wand so fast that it took them a few seconds to realise that he now held the long, thin yew rod in his hand. The memory Dumbledore, however, realised at once, and, just as speedily, had his wand in his hand.

There was electricity running through the old man that James had never seen before. It wasn't menacing, it wasn't sinister, but it was determine, and it was angry.

Voldermort raised his wand, and pointed it at Dumbledore's chest. His eyes flashed for just a moment, and a long, green jet of light burst out of his wand. Dumbledore was unharmed. He disappeared, and appeared seconds later behind Voldermort.

"What was that Tom? I am going to ask you some questions now, questions that I don't think that you would want your friends in the forest to hear…." Said Dumbledore. Voldermort sneered.

"It is not for you to bargain Dumbledore, and it isn't your job to interrogate me. I could kill you in an instant-"

"But you know that I am not the only one out there who is a danger to you Tom-" Dumbledore said, with a hint of humour in his voice. Voldermort cut him off.

"If you are talking about your Order then I don't think that we have anything to worry about." He jeered.

Dumbledore's wand drew higher still.

"I can see that I am to be disappointed by you tonight Tom. I thought perhaps…but clearly I was wrong. My hopes were not high. Goodbye Tom." Dumbledore disappeared with a loud crack, and Lily, James and Sirius caught a glimpse of Voldermort's furious face before they were surrounded in a misty darkness. Next thing that they knew, they were standing back in Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore was pleased to see that they were not nearly as shaken as a regular student may have been.

"That," he said, resuming his seat behind the desk, "Was my memory, from two years ago. I received an owl from Lord Voldermort asking that I met him. Naturally I met him, though I didn't dare tell the ministry where I was. I don't think very highly of the ministry's desire to rid the world of Voldermort. They wont be the ones to finish him. I told no one where I was going, and I hoped that he would offer some reason, some explanation, or, perhaps, some revelation as to why he has done what he has done. I was foolishly optimistic, but at the time we clung to all hope that was offered. I was sorely disappointed, as you saw, and Tom Riddle merely wanted another chance to take over this school."

"Sir," said James quietly, but with as voice that was strongly determined. Dumbledore nodded for him t continue, "Why do you call him Tom?"

Dumbledore actually smiled at this question. "Tom Riddle is the name that Voldermort used at school. I myself taught him in fact, as did many other teachers here. Professor Slughorn, Kettleby…" Dumbledore trailed off. "I believe that Hagrid even attended school with Tom Riddle."

"But you could have stopped him!" Sirius burst out, "you had the chance, you could have killed him right there!"

"In the middle of nowhere, where no one would see that he was gone? When none of his followers would have known, where none of the innocent lives that he has ruined getting closure? I could have Sirius, it is true, but merely taking his life would not satisfy me. And even if I had tried, Tom Riddle has many means of protection. I think that I am right in saying that pointing a wand and saying the correct incantation could kill him now."

Lily said nothing, and just stared miserably at the table in front of her. She had been hoping that Dumbledore was going to show them something to do with the heliotrope, or show them something that they could do to help.

"But Professor, he said something…your order…what did he mean? You don't have a…" James trailed off, scared to say anything more. Dumbledore smiled at them serenely. He couldn't ask them to join. They were just as young as they had been before they had entered the pensive. But there was no harm in telling them.

"The Order of the Phoenix," he began, "Is a group that have founded, devoted to fighting Voldermort, and, most importantly, discovering his secrets." The student's faces lit up.

"But when can we join!" asked Lily enthusiastically, "I mean, we can join, cant we? I mean, this is exactly what we meant, we want to help!"

Dumbledore shook his head, "I am afraid that there is little that you can do for the Order while you are at school. I hate to say it, but you are too young, all of you. However, if you would like, in a year's time, to still help me, then I think that will be fine. I think, in fact, that it would be wonderful." His mood had changed dramatically. Dumbledore kept a smooth, smiling face while the students were surveying him so intently. He had seen the disappointment in their eyes when he had said that they were too young, though, James thought, it was as he had expected. The thing that worried Dumbledore, however, was the fact that in a year's time would they still be too young? Fresh out of Hogwarts seemed much to junior to be fighting for your life against Voldermort. And the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore was sad to say, didn't have a very high mortality rate.

Lily, James and Sirius nodded, Sirius pouting, James keeping a firm face, and Lily gracefully disappointed.

"Now, if the three of you don't mind then I must ask you to leave. I really wish that I didn't have to, but I do have a meeting with the Minister at five, and the three of you should be getting ready for dinner." They nodded, and moved to the door, thanking Dumbledore as they went.

"Oh, and I don't even have to ask, but I would appreciate it if the contents of our meeting remained between the four of us. And Remus Lupin, if he would care to know." They nodded, grinning, and left Dumbledore's office.

" Too young…" Sirius muttered furiously under his breath, as they walked the familiar track to Griffindore tower.

"Calm down Sirius," said Lily.

"Calm down! I can't calm, down! What does age even-" Sirius continued, but James cut him off.

"That was pretty good of him though, wasn't it? Showing us all that? I don't think he was really meant to. Great guy, Dumbledore. And besides, we are too young. We don't have the qualifications to fight Him." Sirius's face was going red, and Lily knew that something was boiling inside of him that went much deeper than the conversation in Dumbledore's office.

"You don't understand, do you! He doesn't care about age! That's what we're up against! Do you remember Bellatrix? Fifth year when we were in first? We're cousins, ok, and do you know where she is now? She dropped out of this place so that she could fight for Him when she was sixteen! If they don't care then we're a step behind them, they'll always outnumber us! I cant stand it, sitting here, reading the paper every day!"

Lily and James stood there, shocked. They didn't know what to say or do that could console Sirius, who was now breathing heavily and resting his head against a wall.

"Sirius? We do understand, ok? We do. But the only reason that people are dropping out of school to fight for Voldermort id because he doesn't care. It's enough for me that Dumbledore cares enough for our education over his victory. And besides, we've got less than a year left here, and then we're gone. I don't want to give that up." Lily said quietly, laying a hand on Sirius's shoulder. He finally looked up, and they walked in silence back to the Griffindore tower, by which time none of them felt remotely like dinner.


	14. Visiting James

Visiting James…

That night, Lily's eyes were almost closed when she remember the conversation that her and James had had that morning.

Throwing her blanket off of her, she threw on her dressing gown and crept down the stairs, her little green book securely in her pocket. She was so intent on getting out of the dormitory that she didn't notice her bed wasn't the only one unoccupied…

"Ella?" Lily hissed, when she got to the common room. The fire had burned right down now, so that it was only emitting a soft glow, by which she could see two figures sitting very close by it's side. They didn't move when she talked. They hadn't heard Lily, but she could see Ella's long hair glimmering in the dim light.

"Ella? What are you doing?" Lily asked again, a little louder. The figures by the fire jumped, and flew apart. Now she could see. Remus and Ella sat by the fire, hand in hand, their eyes wide in shock. Lily sniggered, smiling.

"Finally!" she whispered, as they dropped their hands and looked sheepish, "don't worry, I wont tell anyone, I'm just glad you too have finally got a move on!"

"No! It's not what you-"

"Quiet Remus, it's exactly what I think!" Lily laughed. She saw her friends grin by the firelight, and their hands found each other again. "Now, did you tell her the truth?" she asked. Lupin nodded awkwardly. Lily laughed.

"Ok, now, I want you to repeat after me- Lily was right!"

"No!" said Lupin, chuckling. Evan Ella cracked a smile.

"No way! You are not getting away with this! How long have I told you to tell her huh?"

"Ok ok! Lily was right!" he said, "Now, Miss Evan's, what are you doing out of bed at this time of night?" said Lupin. Lily looked uneasy.

"I was visiting James." She murmured. Ella and Lupin looked at each other and hi-fived discretely.

"No! It's nothing like that! Need to talk to him about something! I promise, it's not anything…you know what, I'm just going to leave you to it!" Lily turned and rushed up the stairs, followed by humoured yells of-" Come on lily, say it! Remus and Ella were right!" she grinned to herself, and ran over to James' bed. He was lying on top of the sheets, staring at the ceiling.

"Oh good, you're awake!" she whispered happily, the smile made from Ella and Remus's taunts still not left her face.

"Mmmm. I didn't know if you would remember, but I thought that I'd wait anyway. I couldn't sleep."

"Neither could I." Said Lily. "Do you mind if we don't look through the book tonight? Sorry, I just don't think I could keep my mind on it at the moment." James nodded, understanding, and patted the patch of bed next to him, for her to sit down, hoisting himself up so that he was leaning on his cushions. Peter's soft snores filled the room, and the light from the moon outside drifted in and cast James' face in numinous shadows.

Lily lay on the patch of bed. She looked up at James.

"So, what do you recon?" he asked her seriously.

"I don't know. I want to do something, but I'm having such a great time here…" she said quietly.

James nodded. "I know, I am too. I don't want to have to grow up so fast. Is that selfish?"

Lily shrugged, and James lay down next to her.

"And besides," said Lily after a while, "I don't think that I could bare it if anything happened to you." Lily became quiet sad.

"You don't have to worry about that." James whispered in her ear. "I promise that I'll always be there to protect you."

James stroked Lily's soft, red hair quietly, running his fingers through the long gingery strands that fell upon her back. Lily felt her eyes begin to close. She couldn't fall asleep in the boy's dormitory. She would be in big trouble if McGonagal ever found her…but the gentle lulling of James hand and the comfort of him there beside her made her eyes gently close, and she was swept off into dreams filled with Voldermort's sneering face, and James quiet protection…

Lily woke with a start. James' arm was wrapped around her, but it was Sirius' Black face that was peering down at her, laughing.

"What are you doing?" she asked him blearily, sitting herself up and untangling her limbs from James' embarrassedly.

"I think that I should be asking you that Miss Evans? What on earth were you and James up to last night? Lucky bugger. Dani would never agree to sleep in _my _bed."

"That, Sirius, is because Danielle has a boyfriend, and he is not you! But, you never know what her and Matt have been doing…" she enjoyed the effect of her word son Sirius's tormented face, as she got out of James bed and pulled her dressing gown on over her pyjamas.

"What did she…what do they…No, you know what, I don't want to know." He told her defiantly. Lily laughed.

"No, neither do I! Will you tell James that I said good morning, when he wakes up? Oh, and thankyou! See you Sirius!" said Lily cheerfully. Giving her bewildered friend a jovial wave and flitting down the stairs, Lily snuck discreetly across the common room and up to her dormitory, where Ella and Dani were only just rising.

"Where were you?" asked Dani, amazed. "I thought that you must have been in the shower or something!" Ella sniggered; She had known where Lily was.

"Yes Lily," she said, amused, her face screwed up in mock curiosity, "Where _were_ you?"

"Oh shut up Ella!" Lily snapped. Ella giggled.

"Well, if you must know, I was, uh, up in the boys dormitory talking to James." Lily said airily, not meeting Dani's eye and straightening the cushions on her bed. Dani dropped the brush that she was holding.

"All night?" he said, dumbfounded. Lily rolled her eyes.

"No, ok, I slept up there, but only because I was tired from talking" she argued. Dani scoffed.

"Tired from talking? I think you were tired from something else."

"Well then Dani, while we're at it, Sirius said that you're welcome to join him up there any time that you like." Lily smirked. Dani stopped, mid-laugh.

"Ok, truce. We wont discuss this ever again." She said.

The legend of the bloodstone…

The three girls went down to the Great Hall, for breakfast.

The Ravenclaws hissed at them as they passed. James and Sirius made rude hand gestures at the perpetrators, greeting the girls with grim smiles and helping them into their seats.

"Quidditch getting close huh?" said Lily to James, when they were seated. James and Sirius nodded dourly. Ella laughed.

"You two will be fine! It's them who should be worrying! I wouldn't want to be…" she trailed off, looking at Dani. She was stark white. Sirius grinned. He would be competing against Matt on the weekend. Perhaps if he beat him by a large enough margin then Dani would realise what a prat he was? Maybe the jubilation of a victory party would be enough for them to finally get together. His hopes were not high, but it was with more enthusiasm than normal that he dug into his bacon and eggs.

"What do we have first?" James asked. Lily checked her timetable.

"Free period." She said, happily. "Common room?" James nodded, and they said goodbye to the others and went up to the common room, Lily racing up to her dormitory to retrieve the little green book, which had taken up residence under her pillow.

"That it?" James asked, when she took a seat opposite him beside the fireplace. Lily nodded, and opened the tiny cover. James peered over the edge.

"The writing's tiny." He said, squinting at its pages, while Lily flicked through.

"Not really, look!" said Lily, and she opened it at a page with a sparkling photograph, which seemed to glimmer, though no light was hitting it. It was a deep green stone, with flecks of red scattered through it. Lily knew that she had found what she was looking for. This was why the book had been calling for her. Something wanted her to get to the bottom of this mystery,. She didn't know what it was, but it had made her pick up the one book in the library that could have helped her.

James' eyes widened at the sight of the stone that sparkled on the page.

"Is that a bloodstone?" he asked quietly. Lily nodded, and held the book up to her eyes so that she could decipher the tiny script.

The legend of the Bloodstone oth- 

"The inks smudged." Whispered Lily. James shrugged, and gestured for her to continue.

_For centuries the villages of Kuraby and Marleston had fought. The source of their conflict was a stone. The stone was large as large as a snitch, however, it was no ordinary gem. When one who was pure of heart, with good intentions used the stone to their advantage then they could perform amazing feats. These can be seen on small scales today, purification of the blood, banishing of evil spirits, protection, prolonging of life and the curing of werewolves were some of it's more exclusive powers, with the last being the moist unique. Though many potions today use ground up bloodstone to cure a werewolf of their condition these are merely home remedies, and none of yet have proved successful. _

_The villages had formed tribes and councils, and the grudges that they held against one another were passed down from generation to generation, like a disease that continued to grow more fearsome with each passing child._

_When the burden got too much, and the tribes could no longer with hold their ancient grudge, they let loose on the other, and a war endured that lasted for many years. It was at this time, thousands of centuries ago, that many believe the Avada Kedavera curse was created, though this cant be confirmed. There was nothing that was going to end the desperate fight for power, and it seemed as though it would never end, each village wanting the power for themselves, believing that supreme power and magic would be theirs._

_Finally, when only one wizard had made it through the fighting, and only one was left form each of the villages, they stood before the stone,. Thinking of all they had lost and beginning to wonder if the lives of all they had loved had been worth the stone, when the warrior from Marleston reached for the bloodstone, and something horrible, something amazing occurred. _

_The man didn't become immortal, and he wasn't cured of his heartache and pain. The good energy that would once power the stone was gone, and the death and destruction that was in its place made the blood red veins that ran through it's smooth surface ablaze with fury and devastation. The two men found themselves swallowed up with darkness, and the place where their villages stood was never seen again, as though they were gobbled up by the earth itself. _

_As was the bloodstone. Though there have been many rumours in recent years of the great stone beginning used to cure and to create, most believe that the legend of the bloodstone is just that. A legend to be told to foolish travellers and wistful warriors, who want to make their mark on the world. _

"That's it James, That's it!" Lily cried, slamming the book shut and looking up at him in amazement. "That's not just a legend! I've read this somewhere before, I know that I have, and that's what we've got to do! We have to go there and find the bloodstone!"

James was looking crestfallen, staring at the carpet in dismay.

"What is it?" she asked him quietly. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong, is that we don't have the time, or the powers to go off looking for rocks, even if they do save Remus. And did you read the end of that story Lily? It's only a story. We shouldn't get too excited, and, for the moment, I don't think that we should get Remus worked up either. I know that we really want to do this, but what will happen to our NEWTS? And where would we even start looking when we got there? And what about all those other things that we have to worry about at the moment? What about the Heliotrope?"  
Lily sighed at the mention of that mysterious word.

"We should have asked Dumbledore." She said wearily.

"No we shouldn't have." James replied firmly. "We weren't meant to be there, remember?"

"Mmmm. I suppose. It's just frustrating…"

"Listen, I know what this means, I understand that, I do, but we do only have half a year left here, ok? Lets try, for once in our lives, to be normal. There will be plenty of time for finding the stone then."

Lily hesitated for a moment, and looked into James' eyes.

"Ok." She relented finally. "But if we find the heliotrope then we are going after it, agreed?" James nodded, regretfully.

She pocketed the little book, and they headed down to their potions class.

The potions teacher, Professor Slughorn, was the head of Slytherin House, however, he had taken a liking to Lily and Lupin, inviting them to parties and meeting that were for, as he liked to call it, The Slug Club.

Lily found the whole idea quite funny, and she liked to tease Slughorn immensely, their witty banters taking up much of the potions lessons. Lupin, on the other hand, found that being in the Slugclub was embarrassing and degrading, and didn't often turn up to parties, having mysterious prefect duties, or detentions on the nights that they were held.

"Evans!" boomed Slughorn, when they had all taken their seats and begun brewing Corperletius, a potion that would heal burns; "We're all meeting in my office tonight if you wish to come!"

"It had better not be your resident snakes this time Professor. Got any Griffindore's that you wish to invite?"

"Only you and Remus, but as he doesn't wish to come on many the occasion."

"So who else have you rounded up this year?" she asked, teasingly. Slughorn scowled.

"Rounded up! You make it sound as though I force them to come."

"Certainly not, or else Remus would attend."

"Very well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you… Nott, Cumberdale, Mixaxtas, Severus, and-"

"And Remus." Added James. Lily, Remus and Slughorn all looked at him in horror and shock. But James' eyes weren't on Remus. He was too busy looking across the room at Snape.

"Very well then, Remus, if you finally wish to join us. We will have pudding." Slughorn chortled, and started up the rows again. Lily shared a look of exasperation with Sirius.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Remus hissed, ducking down behind his cauldron to talk to James, who was fuming.

"I don't want him, there…alone, with her." James said angrily.

"They wont be alone! There's a professor there for crying out loud!"

"That wouldn't stop Snivelius, the little slime ball…be a perfect time for him to slip Lily a love potion or-"

"Or what? Listen, if I'm there so that I can keep an eye on Lily then I have got better things to do." Remus argued.

"Are you saying you don't care about Lily?" James said, his jaw clenched like his fist.

" No James, I just don't think that there's any need. I know that Snape likes her, but she doesn't know that, and even if she did she wouldn't do anything about it! And in any case, he wouldn't do anything with her. He calls her a mudblood, remember?" James was breathing deeply.

"So you wont go?"

"No. No I wont. "

"He said there'd be pudding!" James tried. Lupin laughed.

"I don't want his pudding. If it were your choice I wouldn't even eat the pudding, I'd be too busy throwing it at Snape, while he and Lily snogged-"

"Professor!" called James, popping up from behind his caldron.

"Ella asked me to tell you that she'd like to come to the next little one of you gatherings. Too, and she is sorely sorry that she has missed so many in the past." James said, with a grin on his face. Lily and Sirius looked at him open mouthed.

"Ella? Her mother wrote 'Famous Wands And What They've Done, did she not?"

James nodded. "That's the one! Is it still ok that she comes?" Slughorn grinned, and nodded enthusiastically. James ducked back down under his cauldron, where Remus's face was red.

"What the ruddy hell did you do that for?" said Remus.

"Not you have to go! Cumberdale's going, and you know who he want-"

"Shut up James! I could just get Lily to keep an eye on her…oh no, wait, she'll be off snogging Snape." James growled, and they emerged from their discussion, and went back to brewing their potion.

"James? What did you do that for? You know that Ella wont want to go!" Lily said to him, outraged.

"Maybe she will now, Remus is going." He said with a roguish smile, so that Lily couldn't help but crack a reluctant grin.

" Perhaps, but I don't think that that will stop her killing you when she finds out that you signed her up for a night with Slughorn." Said Lily, stirring her potion with apparent ease while Sirius tried to amend his gluggy concoction.

"A night with Slughorn?" James teased.

"What do you do at these little get togethers of yours Evans?" James asked, winking, and Lily looked repulsed.

"Ew! James Potter get your mind out of the gutter and onto your potion! You know what I mean. She'll throttle you, I promise." She said, peering her copy of Advanced Potion Making in concentration. James smiled at her.

"What?" she said haphazardly, catching his expression of bliss.

"Nothing. " James said quickly, and didn't disclose to anyone but himself that the reason he was so happy was the mere fact that he was here spending time with Lily Evans.


	15. I am in love with Danielle Doyle'

Quidditch…

When the girls reached the common room the next morning it was an array of red and adornments, and scattered singing as people headed down to breakfast on the morning of the Quidditch match. Sirius, James, Remus and Peter had already gone down to breakfast. Dani was appropriately subdued, and Lily was still excited at the prospect of spending Christmas with James. Ella, however, was prancing around as though she was on a pogo stick, bouncing right up to people singing a meaningless chant of support to the team and wearing Griffindore scarves, Sirius' old Quidditch jersey and bright red gloves. Her hair had been transformed into a red and gold creation of colour, and her face was practically unrecognisable under the layer of face paint that covered it.

"Calm down El." Said Lily, steering her friend out of the common room, wearing James' old jersey and red army stipes. " The game doesn't start for hours yet, we'll have to sedate you for breakfast."

"Breakfast!" she squealed. "I love breakfast on Quidditch morning, with the colour and the excitement, and the players coming in to all the cheers…"

"Dani." Said Lily, turning to her other best friend as Ella rambled on about flags and music, and atmosphere, " You look…neutral."

Dani, who was dressed in a grey dress, with her hair pulled up into a ponytail and no makeup on her face.

"That was the point." She said dully, surveying her outfit with a look of distaste as the three of them walked to breakfast. "I did have some makeup on, but my blush was red, so that was out of the picture…"

They got to their seat in the great hall, and sat down opposite the four boys, James and Sirius in their Quidditch robes, and the others dressed in red. The whole hall was a moving sea of red and blue.

"Girls!" cried James happily, waving his hand at them as they took their seats. "Sit down sit down!"

James' way of dealing with nerves was being loud and obnoxious, Sirius and Lily knew that, but for the other two girls who hadn't worked it out they stared at him as though he was crazy for the over enthusiastic welcome, before Dani hesitantly took her seat and Ella came to herself and bounced up onto the seat with her balled fist in the air.

"Griffindore is going to WIN!" she cried, and dived under the table laughing as breakfast foods and insults were thrown at her from the next table, as well as approving cheers from those supporting Griffindore, and her friends.

Peeking back over the top of the table, panting, Ella finally took her seat, the boys looking at her as though she was mad.

"She was like this all morning." Lily told them, smiling, and Sirius laughed, before turning his attention to Danielle.

"You look like you're about as into it as Ella, aren't you Dani." He said eagerly, rolling his eyes. Dani looked guilty, and wouldn't meet his eyes. Lupin through Sirius a reproachful look and Sirius looked apologetic. Remus must have told him to go easy on the girl.

But there was one person who wouldn't be, Lily thought, as she watched Matt walk over to where they all sat, his blue Quidditch robes trailing his body, and something hidden behind his back.

"Hey Dani." He said, leaning down to where she sat. "You're not supporting anyone."

She laughed awkwardly, and turned around to face him.

"Sure I am." She said. "I'll be cheering for both of you."

"Both of _us?_" he asked, giving a fleeting look to a jovial Sirius.  
"Both of the _teams_." Dani corrected. "Of course I'll cheer you on though Mat." She said, while a small, forced smile. He smiled back, and passed her the thing that Lily had seen him hold behind his back.

"Here," he said, with a snide glance across the table. "For you to wear at the match." And he kissed her before heading out of the great hall, with one last yell at his team.

Ella pried the thing out of Dani's hand as she groaned. Sirius scrambled around on the ground searching for the fork that he had dropped when Dani and Mat had kissed, and James growled as he saw the flash of the blue rosette that Ella was holding in the air with a look of great disgust plastered on her red and gold face.

"Ew. That's gross. It's Ravenclaw colours." Ella squealed, holding the rosette with the tips of her fingers.

Dani let out a cry of frustration. "Great! After all of that I have to wear this any way! So much for staying neutral, now I'm supporting Ravenclaw! I'm going to be murdered!"

"By Sirius." Added James in an undertone to Lily across the table, for Sirius' eyes had grown wide at the sight of the blue badge.

"So don't wear it." Lily suggested.

"I have to. He's my boyfriend, I really should be supporting him, I guess…"

James gave a yelp as Sirius kicked him under the table.

"Wow-eee-lll…you could always dump him and then you won't have to wear the rosette, and go out with someone so possessive." James suggested. Sirius nodded his approval.

Dani looked for minute as though she was going to argue back, but James realised, and grabbed Sirius by the arm.

"Better get down to the pitch mate, see how the conditions are and all." James said, helping a frustrated marauder out of his seat and heading out of the hall. He looked back at their spot and mimed a stressed out; help, at the others, and while they laughed, Dani didn't notice, for she was too busy reluctantly pinning her rosette to her grey dress.

The girls headed down to the pitch, Dani picking absent-mindedly at her blue rosette, which was drawing hisses form angry Griffindores.

"Just take it off if it bothers you so bad Dani. I think that was a very unfair thing of him to do, if you don't mind me saying." Commented Ella, a sentence that would have made Sirius eternally grateful had he not already been down at the Quidditch pitch.

"It's not that simple El, you heard me telling the guys!" Dani argued, taking her hand of the badge, with great effort.

By the time that Ella, Dani and Lily found Lupin and Peter, the stands were extremely crowded, and an array of colours. Cringing slightly at the noise, Lily slid in next to Lupin, and Ella sat on the other side of her. Or rather, stood on the other side of her. The girl was again, standing on her chair, and as much as Griffindore enjoyed the excessive team spirit, the red clad supporters behind her were not so accommodating.

"Thanks!" cried an unabashed Ella, waving a flag that had thumped her on the head as she sat down next to Lily.

"Be careful El, you don't want to get your self hurt." Said Remus, cocking his eyebrow curiously at her blatant enthusiasm.

"I'm making up for Dani's lack of house spirit Remus! Someone has to!" she cried over the roaring crowd, as the Ravenclaw team flew out onto the Quidditch pitch. Matt was flying last, and he looked up into the Griffindore stand, seeking out Dani. When he waved she raised her hand and gave a half-hearted whoop, which was ill received by those surrounding her, who took it as a sore mark of treachery.

"And the Griffindores!" cried a sixth year who was commentating, Chris Pillory, an enthusiastic Hufflepuff. After having Sirius commentate in his first year, McGonagal had decided it best to always have an unbiased commentator.

The Griffindore team shot onto the field, James bringing up the rear. The entire stand erupted with an ear-splitting cheer, and even Dani rose to her feet screaming in elation at the sight of Sirius' handsome black hair looking gorgeous and windswept, but she stopped abruptly, noticing Mat's jealous eyes were still on her.

The referee blew the whistle for the crowd to stop, and only Ella was left standing, waving her arms wildly. Lily pulled her back to her seat like an over inflated balloon.

The captains shook hands. James looked into mat's eye, and gave a firm grip, but let go quickly, ignoring Sirius' cough, which sounded remarkably like _rip it off._

Another sharp blow of the whistle and the game had begun. There was one other chaser on the team, apart from James and Sirius. Marcus Finley was a sixth year, and the three of them could work together with seamless precision. The seeker, Corrie Mather, was a fifth year girl, who was, in James' opinion, the lightest, speediest thing in the air apart from the snitch. Their only problem was their keeper, who had had to be replaced that year, Jim Thomas. The quaffle was thrown into the air, and at once Sirius and Mat sped towards it. James rolled his eyes. That wasn't what they had planned. He was always the one that grabbed the quaffle, he was speedier, even though Sirius' reflexes were probably better than his, but he knew from the moment that Mat dived for the red ball that he wouldn't be the one racing for it.

Mat's hands closed around the quaffle. Sirius let out a grunt of frustration, and after an apologetic look for James he sped off after Mat

"Sirius don't be a dick!" James cried, but Sirius didn't hear him. The wind was rushing past his ears as he circled Mat and cut him off.

"What the hell are you doing!" cried Mat, trying to regrip his broomstick as the abrupt stop almost threw him off.

"Not doing anything wrong! Not like I touched you, was it!" roared Sirius over the wind., and Mat doubled back and sped off towards the goalposts again.

"Sirius!" James cried, and his friend turned around. Hurt and frustrated though he was, Sirius was determined not to let the whole of Hogwarts see the furious tears that has welled up behind his eyes, and he especially didn't want James to think any less of him, so Sirius turned away from his best mate, and looked at the result of his interference at the other end of the pitch.

Back in the stands, Dani's mouth was open in horror.

"That does it! He almost knocked Mat off his broomstick! I'm not going to get my wand in a knot over what that idiot thinks!" she said boldly to the others, sounding a lot more like their defiant friend than the girl who had possessed Dani over the last few days.

Pointing her wand at her dress she transformed herself into a vibrant blue outfit with hair and face to match. Ella shrieked.

"Don't do that here! People will know that I'm friends with you! You'll get mobbed!"

Dani shrugged, and Lupin and Lily rolled their eyes at her.

Angry yells came from behind them, and the roar of the Griffindore crowd when they saw Dani was so loud that for a moment all the players stopped to watch as things were thrown at Dani, who was shouting out support to Mat. Sirius cried out in astonishment, and pointed his broom straight at the point where Mat was about to score.

"And now Black's moving again, and I don't know what he's going to do really. He's headed straight for the Ravenclaw chaser and it doesn't look like he's thinking of slowing down any time soon…"

And he wasn't. Alerted by the commentary, Mat turned to see Sirius shooting past him just in time, and threw the ball threw the hoops before giving a spectacular sloth roll to avoid Sirius' speedy figure.

"Sirius you nutter! Stop trying to maim my boyfriend!" Cried Dani form the stands. Lupin turned to her.

"I don't think that that's going to work Dani." Said Remus, laughing slightly.

"And I don't think that calling Mat your boyfriend will aid the matter weather." Added Lily, giggling. Ella rolled her eyes at Dani, but the blue clad girl, clueless, continued to cheer for the other team.

The Ravenclaw supporters let out a cheer so fierce that Lily was sure she could feel it cause a small breeze. The quaffle that Matt had thrown had soared through the goalposts with ease, and Mat was screaming, his clenched fists thumping the air. Sirius and James were conversing in mutters and Lily, Remus and Ella were exchanging sullen glances at Dani's jubilation.

"What the hell are you playing at Padfoot?" James growled at Sirius, who looked guilty.

"Sorry mate, wont happen again," Sirius muttered back through gritted teeth. "I just can't stand that guy…"

"I know that, and I don't particularly like him either, but that's all the more reason to play a good game and show the prat up, instead of making an idiot of ourselves, now forget about Dani and lets play some good Quidditch!" James said emotively, and Sirius gave a grim smile, before shooting off back into the game.

"And Thomas passes to Finley, who passes to Black to passes the quaffle back to Potter. Potter has the quaffle and is soaring up the field, coming close now to Janson! Janson's keeping isn't as strong as it could be this year…Potter may have a chance…and he passes to Black, who is intercepted by MAT Black races after Mat, who has turned the game around for the Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw in possession now, soaring towards the goalposts, Thomas is getting ready…"

James swerved dangerously in front of Mat, who was ready for it this time, and didn't come any where near falling off his broom, but still gave reason for Dani to scream angrily at him, for Mat had dropped the quaffle, and Sirius was now streaming down to the other end of the pitch.

"AND GRIFFINDORE SCORE!" roared Pillory. At the same instant the Griffindore supported let out whoops of glee, Ella began to dance along the seats, and Remus hoisted her onto his shoulders.

"Griffindore for the cup! Griffindore are the best! Oh Yeah! That's right! Take that you-"

There was a thud as she threw herself back wards and landed in a heap with Remus on the floor. Lily laughed at the mess at her feet, before looking hastily away. They didn't come up until the game had well and truly started again.

Lily laughed, but Dani had noticed nothing, she was too busy watching the furious battle between Mat and Sirius that was taking place on the Quidditch pitch. They were both neck and neck, Sirius holding the quaffle and Mat chasing after him. Ramming along side Sirius' broom every so often, causing him to change course.

"Sirius! You're doing it again! Pass the damn ball!" Bellowed James from underneath Sirius. Sirius dropped the quaffle down to him, and James caught it in his arms and kept flying.

"And Potter nears the goal hoops, he shoots…he scores! Ten Points for Griffindore!" Screams from the Griffindore side of the pitch exploded again, and James basked in his moment of glory, hi fiving Sirius.

The game went on in this way. Until the score was one hundred and fifty to ten, Griffindores way, and the silent fight between Matt and Sirius had reached a boiling point.

"Whoever catches the snitch now wins the match!" Cried Ella over the array of voices and cheers that were issuing from the stands.

Just then, the Ravenclaw seeker went into a splendid dive, and was closely followed by Corrie.

Corrie was a good flyer, but she wasn't this good. The Ravenclaw seeker, Hicks, was fast, and he was flying faster than anyone had ever seen before, focused on the golden glimmer on the other side of the pitch.

Mat had the quaffle in his hands. Reaching to score, Mat had a triumphant smirk on his handsome face, but hesitated when he heard Sirius call.

"I'm in love with Danielle Doyle!" Sirius screamed at the top of his lungs. Back in the stands Dani gasped, Lupin groaned, and Lily and Ella giggled. Mat turned on his broom, dropped the quaffle, and Sirius lobbed it across the pitch to James, who sent the red ball soaring through an unoccupied goal hoop.

The Ravenclaws erupted with cheers, watching the seeker battle it out, but stopped as soon as they caught a glimpse of the scoreboard. They hadn't won…the score was…

"ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY TO ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY!" screamed Ella, her voice husky from crying out. Hoisted back onto Remus's shoulders, screaming, Ella and Lupin hardly noticed that Dani was still sitting in pleasant shock, her hand over her gasping lips.

Sirius, meanwhile, was celebra5ting in the air, revelling in the joy that hit him when the sound of the stands erupting into sound reached his ears. But the bliss only lasted for a second. A moment later he felt something very hard collide with his head, and he fell through what felt like a deep, dark tunnel.

"Thank god you caught him James." Sirius heard a voice whisper.

"I can't believe that Mat did that."

"I can." Said another voice that Sirius recognised all too well.

"I suppose that he was provoked…"

"So was Padfoot!"  
"I never said that he wasn't, but Matt was too!"

"Still, he's a bloody prick! Could have been killed if he'd fallen all that way!"

"Stop saying that." Sniffed Dani, and Sirius quickly shut his opening eyes again, intrigued.

"You ok Dani? He'll be fine, you know that. Pomfrey said he'd wake up soon." Said Remus.

"No thanks to Matt" howled James.

"Calm down James, we were all worried." Said Lily.

"Worried? I don't think that cuts it Lily. Have you seen Matt since the rest of the team were finished with him? He was hexed til he was unrecognisable!" James sniggered. Sirius couldn't contain a snort of laughter.

"What was that? Did he just laugh?" said Remus.

"Can you laugh if you're unconscious?" asked Dani, whipping her face vigorously.

"Course not!" said James happily. "Padfoot open you're eyes you prat!"

Sirius pretended to come to groggily, and sat up.

"What time is it?" he murmured.

"Don't you mean what day is it? Haven't been awake for two ni8ghts now."

"But we won?"

"Course we won! Why do you think the idiot knocked you off your broom?"

"I was knocked off my broom?" Sirius asked, sitting up suddenly. "By who?"

"By Matt." Said Dani quietly, and everyone looked at her, falling silent. She tried to hide another tear as it slid down her face.

"Suppose you were disappointed that Griffindore won, were you Dan?" asked Sirius, with a half hearted smile. She shook her head.

"Really? I thought that you were practically a Ravenclaw these days! Saw you there, dressed in your blue…"

"We have lots of charms homework James, remember? We'd better get going…" Lily said, grabbing him by the arm and beginning to drag him from the hospital wing.

"But I want to see Sir-"

"Now James." She said with demanding finality, and James followed.

"Glad to see that you're alright Sirius!" Lily called out.

"Ohhhh!" said James, realising that Lily wanted to leave Sirius and Dani alone.

"Yeah, we'd better get going to El, got a, err, big day tomorrow…" said emus.

"Why? What's tomorrow?"

"Unless you want to be dubbed thicker than James Potter you come with me now." Said lupin, laughing. Dani looked sheepish, and the other two left, Ella giving Sirius a hug and Lupin patting him affectionately on the shoulder.

Sirius patted the empty spot on the bed next to him, and Dani sat down on it, apprehensively. This wasn't their type of thing. It was James and lily and Remus and Ella who always did the cute talking and the sorry speeches. This was them. They argued so much that they barely got time to be nice to each other. But Sirius knew that this was one time that he couldn't make a joke about hating her, and so he took a deep breath and he looked Dani in the eye.

"Sorry about how I acted at the match." Sirius said finally. Dabni gave him a smile,.

"Me too." She said in a small, nervous voice.

"IO hope that you don't think I just said…what I said…to win the game…because I didn't. I meant every word of it, you know that, don't you?" he said. Dani didn't reply. She looked at him for a moment, as though she were steeling herself to do something, before she leaned forward and kissed Sirius softly on the lips. He grinned, and then, for some reason, pulled back.

"What about Mat?"

"Do you really think that I'd go out with someone who lost to YOU Black?" she said, and he pulled her close and kissed her again.


	16. Shopping in Hogsmeade

Disclaimer: None of this is mine…

With Christmas only days away, the seventh years were allowed to visit Hogsmeade on their days off, in order to buy presents and cards for their family and friends. On Saturday morning Lily and James headed into the village to do all their Christmas shopping.

Snow had fallen thick over the castle grounds, and when the pair reached Hogsmeade they found it iced pristinely with the cold white ice. Hand in hand, they made their way to the Three Broomsticks.

The inside of the pub was a loud and crowded as the streets outside were white. A small band played in the corner, and a wide assortment of witches and wizards drank merrily at its many tables. Over at the bar, Rosmerta was sharing a loud story with two young travellers and off in the far corner were a group of strangers conversing in stand offish whispers.

"Come on." James whispered to Lily, grabbing her hand and leading her over to the bar.

"Two butterbeers thanks Rosie!" he said jollily to Rosmerta, who looked disconcerted at having her story interrupted, and threw him two bottles of butterbeers grumpily, before turning back to the smitten men.

"Don't be stupid, these are on me," James said, pushing back Lily's money and scouting out an empty table amongst all of the chatter.

"Thanks." She said, and took the seat that he pulled out for her, smiling. What this first date? She thought to herself. Neither f them had mentioned anything, but as Lily looked around now, it sure seemed as though it was…The others weren't there, they were away from the castle, sitting together, hand in hand, drinking butterbeers.

Lily let out a small giggle at the thought, and James looked confused.

"What is it?" he asked, leaning in. Lily laughed again.

"Nothing, just thinking, that's all…" she said, laughing again.

"Well that is hilarious!" James exclaimed. "You, thinking!" Lily snorted into her butter beer.

"So, what about Dani and Sirius eh?" asked James, smiling at Lily. Lily's eyes grew wide.

"What about them?" she asked in astonishment.

"Is it possible? Do I really know the gossip before Lily Evans?" James teased, leaning back in his chair in mock amazement.

"Come on James! You've got to tell me now! That's torture! You know how much I-"

"They kissed." He blurted out.

"What?" Lily exclaimed, upending her butterbeer so that it was sent skidding over the top of the table. "Why that little…I cant believe she hasn't told me…"

"Well does she know about us?" James said, smirking. Lily deflated, and then let out a laugh herself.

"I guess I can't talk…" she said. "But that's great! Bet Sirius was excited."

James nodded, grinning. "I went and visited him at the hospital wing IO swear he almost floated off the bed!"

"Well it's about time, I'll say that much." Lily commented gleefully.

"I'll bet you say more." James said. Lily rolled her eyes at him.

"Shut up."

"So, what was it that you were thinking about that had you laughing?" James asked, leaning back in so that Lily could hear him.

"I was thinking that this is practically our first date, when you think about it." She replied, boldly going slightly red, but smiling all the same. James jerked straight up, his mouth open.

"Bloody hell you're right!" he exclaimed. "I'm sorry Lily, I should have taken more notice, I-"

"Calm down, I'm not upset bout it, I'm happy! I cant believe it, that's all…" she said. James pulled out his wand, and conjured a red rose.

"Here." He said, giving it to her along with a gorgeous grin. "You're beautiful."

"God you're gorgeous." Lily said, melting, and taking the flower.   
They left the pub an hour later, talking contentedly and headed straight for dervish and bangs, where they planned to purchase Sirius' Christmas presents.

"So why doesn't Sirius like his family?" Lily asked, as they walked along the road, snow falling gently on their hair.

"Its probably best not to let Sirius know that I told you, but they like the dark arts a little more than he does." James said awkwardly.

"What do you mean? They're not-"

"His little brother is. Regulus." James said, and Lily gasped.

"No wonder he gets so worked up about the whole thing." She said, as they kept on walking, pulling their scarves tighter around their necks.

"Yeah, and he left home start of last year, camped out the back of my place last summer. Mum and Dad wanted him to have his own room you know? They love him, but he's too proud for that. He likes it where he is, and it's not as though living out the back is uncomfortable." James grinned. "My Uncle Perkins has the most amazing tent, it looks old and shabby, then you step inside and it's like a house! And a damn better one that what Sirius' used to, I'll tell you. A lot smaller than the Black Manor, but at least it doesn't have snakes in every nook and cranny! And his house elf is blinking mad!"

"Wow. Poor Sirius." Lily said, as they reached the joke shop and stepped into the warm interior, a clatter of noise and colour.

"Ah well, like you said, we're family now." James said, and he led her over to a stand covered in a wide assortment of magical objects and gadgets, which would fill Sirius' happiest daydream, although admittedly Dani was not for sale. James did, however, purchase him a small knife that was magically designed to open any lock, and Lily bought their friend a small book called '_how to handle women and Quidditch; the wizards guide to all things important_' as a joke, before the couple set off to Honeydukes laughing.

"Remus next! That was fun!" James said; as they passed a group of carol singing elves that stood by the side of the road.

"Really? I think that James has caught the shopping bug!" Lily said, grinning. James looked abashed.

"I don't think that I'm nearly as bad as you miss 'lets just buy both'!" James laughed.

"Ok then, Remus next, now what shall we buy him?"

"I get the poor bloke book and stuff every year! Lets be exciting!" James whined.

"Don't panic, I'll find us something good." Lily soothed, and grabbed him by the hand, leading him to a small toyshop, where she was on a mission to find Lupin something 'fun'.

"Here!" she proclaimed, holding a stuffed wolf in her clenched fist, laughing.

"How the hell did you manage to find something so perfect?" James asked.

"I don't know, I guess I must be perfect." She said, smiling sassily. James looked around for any sign of the store owner, then, when the coast was clear, threw Lily into the heap of toys and jumped in next to her.

"James!" she squealed, falling backwards so that her head was squashing a magical stuffed cat, which was pawing at her head softly. The wolf in her hand gave out a small howl, and James pressed his lips against hers, making lily plainly forget that she was in what seemed to be a pit of stuffed animals.

"We still need to find something for me to give him." She whispered to James.

"I thought a book is always a very nice gift…" he said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Oh shut up." Lily said, and pulled James out of the toys, straightening up. "I'm not going to have a boring present after you give him this!" Lily argued plainly, and they set about the store, looking for something that he would find amusing. In the end she settled for a pocket sneakascope, which alerted one of danger by whistling annoyingly.

Next was the girls, and for this, Lily dragged a reluctant James to Pricilla's magical makeover and accessories store, which was vivid pink in colour and adorned with fluffy poufs and flashing lights.

"Have any sunnies Lil?" James asked sardonically, rolling his eyes.

"Oh shut up, I need to look for something for the girls, and so do you. This is the best place for it, you can't argue that."

"Can't I just get them chocolates or something?" he asked. "I think that I might be the only guy ever to set foot in this store!"

"Stop the whining Potter, now, what do you think of this bracelet?"

"I think that it's pink."

"Really? You don't say? No, really, what do you think that Dani would think if this bracelet?"

"I don't know! Can't we buy her clothes! I'm much more tolerant when it comes to clothes…"

"Ok then, come over her…"

They left the shop with multiple bags, in shockingly bright colours that James refused to carry. In them were two pink tops and bracelets, from James and Lily. But there was something that Lily didn't know. Concealed in James pocket was one little pink bag that she hadn't seen, and he smiled at the thought of her opening it when they woke up on Christmas morning, at his house, together.

After a short stop at Honeydukes to grab some chocolates for Peter, they were ready to head back to the castle.


	17. Meeting the Potters

Meeting the Potters…

"Sirius and Dani eh?" Lily pondered aloud, as she and James walked the path back to Hogwarts, a path very unfamiliar to James, as he was too used to visiting the village secretly. James laughed.

"You still can't believe that it actually happened, can you?"

"It's not that, it's just that, I don't know, they are the strangest couple that I know! One minute they hate each other, and are screaming curses from a broomstick, and the next they're snogging in the hospital wing!" She exclaimed, chortling. James put his arm around her shoulders, to protect them from the gasping cold of the air.

"Well Lily, we're not that ordinary ourselves." He said smiling.

The smile didn't leave his face, not as he watched Lily frantically pack that night, not as he observed Sirius and Dani subtle flirting by the fire, even through their attempted mask, playfully arguing end throwing things at one another. The smile didn't disappear as he, Sirius and Lily walked back to Hogsmeade and caught the knight Bus the very next morning, and of course, it was still there as he stepped of the bus, and he and his friends were greeted warmly by his family.

"James! Kindly stop growing or I shall have to perform a shrinking spell on you!" James' mother, Tracy Potter exclaimed, embracing her son warmly. James' dad, Mark, cuffed Sirius warmly on the shoulder, and Sirius grinned.

"How you going Padfoot old pal?" Mark Potter said brightly. Little Maggie Potter, James' little sister, practically ignored her brother and Sirius, and instead skipped right up to Lily and wrapped her little arms around her waist. Lily looked shocked, and patted the small girl on the head, amazed.

"You must be Lily! I've been looking forward to meeting you so so much! When James said that he was bringing a girl home I didn't know that he meant a real girl I thought that he was joking, because what silly girl would want to spend a whole bus trip with Sirius and my stinky brother, but then I saw you and you are a real girl! And that's so cool, because now we can play games and paint nails, and play dolls be friends forever!" The six year old said the very fast, peering happily up at Lily, beaming, her little hand grasped in Lily's.

"Well that's great! I've been looking forward to meeting you too Maggie!" Lily smiled at James, who winked at her.

"Maggie, leave Lily alone for a moment sweetie, give her a chance to breathe." Tracy laughed, and smiled at Lily.

"Yes Lily, we have heard a lot about you. I have to say that you're something of a legend around here…not that I ever thought we'd meet you…Sirius tells us that James can be a tad arrogant-"

"Mum!" said James sternly, and Tracy smiled.

"Kidding honey, god, she came didn't she! Now lets get inside! You three must be exhausted! Come around the fire, we'll have some eggnog."

It was only then that Lily noticed the house that they were standing before. The size of a mansion, yet much, much better, the Potter's house was more like a castle than a house. Built with what Lily though looked a little like the bricks that formed Hogwarts, it was clearly very old, but roomy and homely at the same time. A large mahogany tree stood out the front of the house, framing the door way perfectly, and Tracy was obviously a keen gardener, the manicured lawn ornamented with a magical swing set and wonderful tree house which Lily supposed that Maggie would have a lot of fun in, as well as, she suspected, Sirius and James.

As beautiful as the house was, though, she could still see the signs that two, or practically three, children had grown up here. A tree by the side of the house had been carved into with inscriptions of names, and the walls of the tree house looked as though a small child had finger-painted the interior. The broom shed by the side of the house had a slightly broken roof, where Lily suspected that James had tried to sneak out by, and a skipping rope lay abandoned on the grass.

"What do you think?" James whispered nervously to Lily, as everyone else forwarded inside. Lily beamed at him.

"It's…magic." She gushed, and James relaxed.

"I'm glad that you like it." He smiled, walking her up to the house slowly, taking her bags, as his father had swept his away. "It's so strange coming back here though!"

Lily grinned as he scanned the area, his eyes glittering as he thought of the past.

"See over there for example?" he asked her, gesturing to a spot on front pathway were a few bricks seemed to be out of place, "That was were Sirius and I crashed out broomsticks in the summer after first year, when we were determined that we would make it onto that years Quidditch team!"

Lily giggled, but James didn't seem to notice, and he looked over to a small tree, small enough to peer over yet large enough to hide behind if you wanted to.

"See that tree there? That's the tree that we planted when Maggie was born. It's meant to protect her, grandpa put a charm on it." He shared. Lily's eyes grew wide. "And the tree house, god, I spend half my life in that thing. Especially when we were twelve, and Sirius and I decided that we'd try and live in it for the whole holidays so that he didn't have to go back home. They found us after a couple of days." He finished with a laugh. Lily laughed too, and the smile still didn't fade from her face when she had finished giggling. They had reached the front door.

"Ready?" James asked her, his hand on the doorknob, bracing himself before entering. Lily nodded, beaming, and James opened the door to his home.

Lily gasped. She had never seen a house so magnificently magic, yet so wonderfully homely at the same time. She had never seen a house as big as this, nor with as much movement within it's walls.

"James it's beautiful!" she exclaimed, eyeing the white marble staircase that the door opened into, and the moving marble swans that donned the end of each banister. The chandelier in the ceiling showered them with light, and made the air seem to shimmer with beauty and freshness. Lily thought that she could smell a cake baking, the enticing scent wafting in from the Potters kitchen and making her mouthy water, and it wasn't until she had drawn her eyes begrudgingly away from the extravagance of the house that she saw Sirius' head perched over the railing at the landing.

"You look impressed Evans!" he said, winking. Lily snorted.

"Impressed? I love this place!" she exclaimed, looking at the many pictures that cover the walls and mantle piece.

"Hey James, is this you?" she squealed, spotting a photograph of a small boy on a toy broomstick giggling happily at the camera. There was no mistaking the boy's messy hair and intriguing eyes, even though he was only a toddler. James went red.

"Lets go up to my room, shall we?" he said, steering Lily away from all of the photographs, waving and laughing up at them.

"Oh come on James, stop being such a party pooper!" an oil painting above the mantle teased, as they headed up the stairs.

"Shut up grandpa!" James said, and ran the rest of the way, Lily laughing.

"Wittle Jamie's embarrassed!" teased Sirius, joining them at the top of the stairs.

"Shut up Padfoot!" James said, and kept on walking, until they reached the last door at the end of the hallway.

The door opened to an explosion of colour and noise. James's room was painted with bright red walls and had posters of the England Quidditch team pinned above his bed. Another poster, signed by the Hobgoblins was hanging over his bookcase, and clinking and whirling was heard from the corner, emitting from a whirly contraption that Lily supposed was for making sweets. The room was surprisingly neat, though Lily suspected that Tracy had been in earlier that day and cleaned it in their honour.

Sirius flopped down on James bed with a sigh.

"Where's Lils sleeping James?" he yawned, watching the sunset outside James window.

"I guess down the hall, in the first guest room." James said.

"The _first_ guest room?" Lily said, exasperated, "How many guest rooms does this place have?"

"Three." James said, modestly blushing. "But Sirius'll kip in one of them, seeing as it's snowing, and you've got one now, so for the moment, we only have one guest room."

Lily rolled her eyes humorously at the plainness in his voice, and looked through her things for something to wear to dinner.

"Lily, what the hell are you doing?" James asked when he saw her laying out her things and getting ready to go into the 'first guest room' and get changed.

"Getting changed for dinner," she said, a pink tinge creeping up into her face.

"Getting changed for dinner?" Sirius said, in a burst of laughter. "What the hell would you want to do that for?"

"Well, it's a pretty fancy house, I just figured…"

"No Lily, that's not how it works around here. Don't bother trying to make a good impression on my parents, just have fun. They already love you! You're gorgeous!"

"But aren't you two going to-"

"No!" the boys said at once, screwing up their nose in disgust at the idea of changing their attire for the meal. "Of course not! Mark and Tracy don't care what we wear! We once turned up in mud covered Quidditch robes and all they told us was to wash our hands!" Sirius commented.

Lily laughed, and began to repack, apprehensively.

"You want me to prove it to you?' James said, looking through his wardrobe thoughtfully. "Here, now we'll see…" he drew out of his cupboard a full-length cowboy suit, and threw it to Sirius, who grinned. Then he pointed his wand at himself, and, in a cloud of smoke, he was revealed to be dressed as a luminous clown, complete with a bright red nose. James grinned at Lily, a grin which was magnified immensely by the bright red lips that surrounded his own. Lily cracked up laughing at once, rolling around on the bed in tears.

"You're kidding me!" She cried. "You're going down there, like that?"

"Only if you do, Lily m'dear." James said, and he and Sirius advanced on her with their wands.

"What?" she shrieked. "Oh no you don't! I don't want them thinking that I'm making the two of you crazy! They'll never invite me back!"

"If that's what you're worried about then you have nothing at al to worry about," said James, raising his wand, "Bellafuritio!" he cried, and when the smoke disappeared that shrouded Lily, her clothes had been transformed into those of a fairy princess, like the costumes that little muggle children wore. Lily grinned. "They will hate me!" she cried, laughing all the same, for Sirius seized her around the waist and ran out of James' room, shouting.

"I stole princess Lily! I stole Princess Lily!" James let out a roar of mock anger, and chased after him, sliding down the banisters and sending the marble swans at the end flying.

"Bring her back you villain!" James roared, and puled a flower out of the side of his clown outfit, thinking to be brandishing a sword. Sirius only laughed, and ran into the kitchen, squealing. Lily smiled, her head thrown over so that she was facing Sirius' back. _It's like their kids again,_ she laughed to herself, as James' mum saw then, screamed with laughter, then joined in, flicking them with a tea towel that was in her hand as she baked dinner.

Lying on the kitchen floor in a heap, James, Lily, Sirius and Tracy laughed so hard that tears trickled down their red faces.

"So what brought this on?" Tracy asked, when they had all settled down. James let out one last snort of laughter.

"Lily thought that she had to get dressed up to come to dinner!" James roared, and Lily hit him in the arm as the kitchen yet again erupted with laughter.

A small figure appeared in the doorway, her bottom lip trembling slightly, a down cast look on her tiny face.

"What's wrong Mags?' asked James, opening his arms so that the six year old could come and give him a hug. As bad a time as the siblings gave each other, they were extremely close.

"You were all having fun and you didn't invite me to the party." Maggie said glumly. James tried to suppress a laugh, and Lily contorted her face into a sympathetic expression.

"Maggies, we weren't having a party without you! We were going to see if you wanted to play princess with us actually." Said Lily. Maggie face lit up a little at the word princess, and she eyed Lily's costume.

"Do I get to dress up and look pretty like you?" she asked. James smiled.

"Lily always looks pretty Mags, but then again, so do you, so here you are." He pulled out his wand and pointed it at Maggie. Instantly she was transformed into a pink fairy princess dress, with glitter shimmering from her brown ringlets. She wore a huge grin on her cheeky face.

"But if it's a princess party then why are Sirius and James dressed funny?" she asked, confused. Tracy and Lily turned on the boys, grinning mischievously.

"Yeah boys." Tracy said, pulling out her wand to point it at Sirius.

"Yeah, why aren't you dressed like princesses?" Lily added, in mock curiosity, and there was nothing that James and Sirius could do as Lily and Tracy drew their wands and changed their outfits in a puff of smoke.

"Bellafuritio!" they cried, and at once they were transformed into bright pink fairy princesses, smiling awkwardly at their attire.

"New picture for the mantle piece I think Wittle Jamesie!" Lily laughed.

"Shut up Lily!" James laughed, and at that moment, Mark Potter came walking casually into the kitchen. He stopped abruptly at the sight of Sirius and his son dressed as fairy princesses. His eyes grew wide in amused astonishment for a moment, before he smiled, pointed his wand at himself, and, in a puff of smoke, stood before them dressed in a very pink princess costume.

Lily had never known any one like the Potters before. They were so unlike her family that it wasn't funny. She could see now why Sirius liked it there so much. And she understood how they were so lenient about him staying there. It was like he was James' brother, and Lily had hardly seen him this happy since their meeting with Dumbledore. She went to sleep on Christmas Eve night, with a huge smile on her pretty face, little did she expect to be awoken during the night…


	18. Merry Christmas Love You Forever

"Lily. Lily wake up, I want to take you somewhere…" a familiar voice flitted in and out of her dreams like a breeze. Lily's eyes fluttered open just a little, and she was too tired to be shocked to see James Potters handsome face staring down at her where she lay.

"What are you doing? What time is it?" Lily whispered, rolling over a little. James laughed, and seized her hand. Lily sat up a little.

"I want to take you somewhere. Come on, it'll be worth it, I promise." He whispered.

Lily got out of bed and wrapped her gown around her. James shook his head, and in the dim light Lily saw him shake his head, and hand her her cloak.

Curious, Lily pulled it tightly around her, and followed James as he led her down the hall. When she was awake enough she realised that James was already dressed, in a deep red cloak that looked more stylish than the other wizards robes that Lily had seen people wear out side of Hogwarts, with golden trimming.

"James, can you tell me where we're going?" Lily whispered. James made a sign for her to be quiet, as they crept past Sirius' door.

"You'll see when we get there." He said in a hushed voice, pulling Lily close to him so that the noise didn't travel through to the rest of the people sleeping in the house.

They went into James' room, and Lily stopped and stared when he opened the window.

"We're going out there?" she asked, her mouth dropping open, well and truly awake by now.

"Mmhm. I do it every Christmas. I wanted you to be there with me this time." He told her, grabbing his broom and gesturing for Lily to hop onto the back. She did so, apprehensively.

They flew, to Lily's relief, only as far as the tree house she had seen the day before when she had arrived at the house. He flew in through the open door way, and they sat on the landing.

The large tree that the house was built in was set at the highest point of the garden, so that the tree house seemed to peer out over the whole area. They could see for miles, in the dim light cast out by the rising sun. Lily gasped, as James took her hand and the sat on the windowsill, looking out over the white wonderland that was Christmas.

"Merry Christmas." James whispered in her ear. Lily grinned.

"Merry Christmas. It's beautiful." She replied, resting her head on his shoulder.

They sat on the windowsill there and watched the sun come up slowly, throwing a dazzling red and orange light dancing over the snow. Lights slowing came on in the windows of the surrounding houses as small children all around them woke up to see what Santa had brought them this year.

"We should get going. Maggie will be getting excited by now, and everyone will wonder where we are." Lily said, reluctantly lifting her head from James' shoulder and turning to face him. Her cheeks were flushed pink, and even though her hair was matted form sleep James though she looked as beautiful as he had ever seen her, the new sun making her emerald eyes sparkle with happiness.

"One last thing. I want to give you your present." James said, drawing his hand into the pocket of his robes, smiling.

He produced a small, flat box from with in the folds of his robes, and Lily gasped as she delicately unfolded the gold wrapping, to reveal a box, in a pale pink.

She opened the lid, and gasped, looking up at James in astonishment.

Lying in the pink box was the most beautiful necklace that Lily had ever seen. It was a golden necklace on a fine delicate chain, with a golden heart at the end of it. It the top left hand corner of the pendant was set a tiny emerald, and engraved on the back was a small message, set in elaborate print.

Love you forever 

"It's so beautiful. Thankyou." Lily gasped, and James grinned at her elation. Turning around, Lily gave it to James to put on her, and she smiled at her reflection in the ice on the ledge.

"Thankyou so much." She said again.

"You deserve it." James said, and pulled her into a kiss.

When they got back to the house there was a very festive spirit in the air. Sirius bounded up to them, singing God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs, and Maggie was just as excited, skipping around the Christmas tree with cries of ; "presents!"

James and Lily laughed, as they walked down into the living room, Lily smiling with an unmoveable grin, and James just as happy.

Tracy and Mark were the last to rise, as is the way with parents and Christmas. Sirius presented them with their gift first, and then gave the doll he'd wrapped up to Maggie, smiling.

Lily gave her gift to James, a voucher for Zonkos and a great amount of butterbeer. Sirius laughed when he opened his gift from Lily, and Tracy commented that it was the quickest she'd ever seen Sirius open a book in all her years of knowing him. Maggie skipped around like crazy, brandishing the fairy wand that Lily had given her, which sang to you when it was waved, and turned things pink when touched.

Carols were sung, and around ten in the morning their door was knocked by a group of five elves who had been sent by their masters to sing carols from door to door. Tracy brought them all in for eggnog.

"Dobby thanks you kind stranger." Wheezed one young elf, whose voice was hoarse form singing too many carols. "Dobby is so cold from singing outside all morning. We is very very grateful."

"Funny little things, aren't they?" Lily said to Sirius, as Dobby talked to James about the family that he served. Dobby wouldn't say their name, but the conversation ended by the tiny elf squealing, hitting his head with his mug, and excusing himself from the house, much to the other, very cold, elves distaste. Sirius only growled.

"Funny? Not all of them."

Lily remembered what James had told her in Hogsmeade and dropped the subject quickly.

"Can I help you with lunch Tracy? I've never seen anyone cook with magic before." Lily asked, when it neared eleven, and Sirius was getting all too merry, Mark letting the boys sip his firewisky.

"Sure sweetie! I could use some help!"

"Thanks."

"Hey!" piped up a small voice from somewhere around Lily's knees. "I help!"

"Well of course Maggie, the dessert is all yours, but I've got something special that Lily can help the two of us with, what do you say?" Tracy smiled, winkling at Lily. Maggie skipped ahead of them and propped a chair up near the kitchen bench.

That's very pretty." Tracy said quietly, seeing the heart that was draped around Lily's neck. She grinned.

"He's a good picker!" Lily said, smiling. Tracy looked astonished.

"_James_ chose that for you?" She laughed, "Never much of a charmer I thought, but I'm glad to see that my sons got it in him."

Lily managed a chuckle too.

"So am I, believe me." She said, and they went to catch up with Maggie.

The Christmas crackers set off in a burst of noise and light, and Maggie and Lily laughed as the one they were sharing let out a squawk, and emitted a fairly large bird.

Maggie chased the bird around the dining room. Lily pushed her hair back out of her face, and looked over to where James and Sirius' cracker had exploded to reveal a miniature clown, which did somersaults on the table in front of them.

Looks like you James!" she laughed, and James looked at her scornfully.

"No! I mean last night when we were all dressed up!" she added hastily, and the boys laughed loudly.

Lily tried not to think about Dobby and the other house elves out singing in the cold as the Potters elf, Cinto, joined them sheepishly at the table and shared a cracker with Tracy, with emitted a huge top hat, which she perched precariously on Cinto's head, before in tumbled over his eyes, and began to shake with his laughter.

Lily James and Sirius went outside after lunch, and had a snowball fight, while an exhausted Maggie fell asleep on the lounge.

"I'll throttle the both of you, hands down!" Sirius proclaimed, a swish of his wand creating a fort to hide behind, laughing at the stunned pair as he ducked behind the barrier he had created.

"No fair!" Lily cried at him, as bewitched snowballs began to fly into their direction. James grabbed her hand.

"No, don't worry about it, I have a plan." He muttered to her, and he himself thrust his wand into the air.

"Accio broomstick!" he said, and in a moment his broom hand soared into his hand, and he and Lily were hovering above Sirius' oblivious black head, snowballs in their gloved hands.

"Gotcha Padfoot!" James cried, as four balls of snow exploded on Sirius' head and showered him in white.

"Oi!That's cheating!" He cried, and James laughed.

"No more so than conjuring a fort Padfoot!" he cried, and Sirius, and he pointed his wand in the air. A snowball shot out of it and at James and Lily. James swerved the broom, and Lily squealed in fear as it made a dangerous curve.

"And that my friend is why we are chasers, and not beaters." James told Sirius, laughing.

"I know, thought I'd try." Sirius called back, and James flew back down to earth.

He, Lily and Sirius slumped down behind Sirius' float, and lay in the snow, looking up at the sky, which was covered now, with pearly white clouds.

"This has been great James." Lily said finding his hand with hers.

"I know, it has, hasn't it," he said, smiling.

"So Padfoot, you and Dani eh?" Lily said, grinning upwards. Sirius sat bolt upright.,

"Did she tell you? What has she said about me? Was I an ok kisser does she think? Does she like me or was she just caught in the moment? Has she talked to Mat?"

"Calm down Padfoot, calm down." Lily said, realising how uncharacteristically doubtful of himself Sirius had become. "I haven't talked to her about it James told me."

"Well then! I might have to tell the girls about the two of you!"

"I think that Dani's the only one who doesn't really know, and even she's got an idea. I think they'd be pretty thick not to get it now, anyway. It's not like we hide it, is it?"

"Well then, well then- Does this mean the two of you talk about me?" he asked them, in the same uptight tone.

"God Sirius! She's sure changed you., hasn't she!" Lily commented out loud, making Sirius stop flustering and look at her.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, before all of this with Dani you were always so sure that all the girls loved you to death, now you're asking weather she thought you snogged well!"

"That's right Lily Evans! I am a changed man! Just like Prongs." He added quietly.

"Hey!" James exclaimed. "I have not changed!"

The other two exchanged sceptical looks.

"Course you've changed! I would never have gone out with you if you hadn't!" Lily said. Sirius laughed.

"Not in the way that Sirius has though, I mean, I have become less confident, have I?" he said, looking worried.

"Oh noooo." Sirius said sarcastically. Then he put on a whiny voice and sat up, looking this way and that so that he looked edgy.

"Hey Padfoot, do you think my hair looks ok? Hey Padfoot, Has Lily said anything about me? Hey Padfoot, has Dani said anything about Lily saying anything about me, hey Padfoot, did you see her watching me at Quidditch, hey Padfoot-"

"We get the picture!"

"Jamsies going red!" Sirius cried, and then fell down laughing as James tackled him. Lily rolled her eyes, and threw a handful of snow at the pair, who were wrestling on the ground.

They fell back to the ground, breathless, and when every thing went quiet Lily smiled ruefully.

"Everything's going to change after this year, isn't it?" she asked, sadly. The boys stopped smiling, and thought about what she had said. It was true. When they got out of Hogwarts they would be saying goodbye to all of this. Snow fights, broomsticks, wrestling over girls…

"We'll still have fun. How could we not?" James said, though without as much force as he had hoped to achieve. But lying there in the snow, the three friends decided that if they were going to fight Voldermort come June, then they might as well have as much fun as they could before the school year was up…


	19. Rule number 2:Never prank a Marauder

The trio returned to Hogwarts with many laughs, stories and tears from Maggie. As they were about to apperate back to Hogsmeade, Mark Potter pulled his son aside, and they conversed in hushed tones, watching the others warily to make sure that they weren't listening to what they were saying.

"I know that Dumbledore's been talking to you, and I know how much you lot are going to want to help him-"

"How did you…"

"I talk to Dumbledore. We keep in touch. Listen to me James, I know what you lot are like with stuff like this. Especially you and Padfoot. But I am asking you now, please, please, don't get involved with it all until after you have left Hogwarts. I know that I cant stop you after that, and even though it's dangerous I don't know if I would even want to, but for now, enjoy being seventeen…"

"Does mum know?"

"No. I haven't had the guts to tell her. But there's no need to, is there James." He added at the end, with a stern look. James knew what this meant. He was promising, promising that he would be a good boy and stay in the castle until he left, and for that, he was slightly happy, even though it seemed his father was treating him as though he were inferior.

"I promise."

"Good. Thankyou. And take care of Lily too. I like that girl, and I can see that she's not one who needs taking care of, but she's not like the other ones that you and Padfoot talk about, she's…"

"She's Lily Evans." Said James simply, with a smile, and Mark took that as all the reassurance that his son was a good bloke that he needed.

They went back over to where the girls and Sirius were saying their goodbyes, and Tracy was wrapping Sirius up in a rib-crunching hug.

"Now sweetie, you know that you're to come back here any time that you like, even after you boys leave the school. And don't be shy to bring around this Dani girl any time that you like either, ok? Don't be a stranger." She wiped her eyes, and Sirius smiled at her.

"Thanks for everything. Both of you." He added, turning to Mark. Lily felt awkward for a moment, like she was intruding on something private, seeing Sirius get emotional like this, but she was sort of glad that she was.

In three quick pops, the three friends were gone, and standing out the front of the three broomsticks.

They looked from the school to the pub, and back again. James shrugged, and the others knew what he meant straight away. There would be time for walking to Hogwarts later. They turned and entered the three broomsticks.

The wizarding pub had the definite drowsiness that comes as sinister trait of Boxing Day. Rosmerta lazed around the bar, slowly cleaning the table, making drinks groggily for any one who approached the counter. The Christmas tree stood in the corner slightly more wilted than it had the last time James and Lily had been in there, and it was as though it was a reminder of the cleaning up and work that was to be done now that they jolly Yule time was over. The songs that played from the wizarding wireless in the corner was no longer the festive carols that adorned their ears a few days beforehand, but was emitting a slow ballad about a young witch who lost her pet owl, with whom she had fallen in love with.

James, Lily and Sirius found a small table, and sat around it, butterbeers in their hands.

"Thanks for that James." Lily said.

"Thanks for what?"

"For inviting me for Christmas. That was the best Christmas that I've ever had." She replied. Sirius nodded in agreement, staring into the depths of his bottle.

"You know what, I think it might have been mine as well." He said. James grinned.

"Well I'm glad. I think it was probably mine too, although the time that dad and I shrunk you Padfoot, and stuck you on the top of the tree…"

Lily burst out laughing, and Sirius went red.

"That was not funny." He said, though there was a small smile playing around his lips.

Back at Hogwarts, the rest of the castle had the same post-season gloom that came when something good was over. The drowsy atmosphere was broken somewhat, however, by the arrival of Dani, as she burst through the portrait hole into the Griffindore common room. Sirius jumped to his feet, and she ran right up to him and threw her arms around him. Sirius grinned bashfully, then kissed her.

Dani cast a quick look around the common room to see if anyone had seen them. Only James and Lily were laughing at them without shame, James rolling on the floor at what had previously been a very secret relationship.

"Um, Lily, er, guess what?" Dani said brightly.

"Don't fret Dan, you like I could spend the whole holidays and not get the gossip out of that idiot?" Lily laughed, and Dani relaxed.

She and Sirius sat down, hand in hand.

"Well, I'm glad you missed me Doyle." Sirius said, smiling. Dani looked embarrassed, and feigned deafness.

Ella wasn't due back until late that night, but Remus came sauntering back through the portrait hole around nine o'clock, unusually cheery and greeting them all with a happy merry Christmas.

"What's got you so happy Remus? Have too much eggnog?" James laughed, as his friend sat down by the fire.

"Nothing, I just had a good break, that's all." He said, smiling.

Peter came back shortly after, and he seemed to pop up out of nowhere, and sat down with them at the fireplace without saying anything at all.

"Peter! When did you get in?" James exclaimed, a couple of moments later. Peter smiled.

"A few seconds ago. You guys were talking; I didn't want to disturb you." He said.

"How was your Christmas Peter?" Lily asked, a little more enthusiastically than she would have ordinarily. The group so often left out the poor boy, and she hadn't ever really taken the chance to get to know him before. In fact, he wasn't so much one to take part in the marauders jokes, and the majority of the time he was at the receiving end of them. The fact that his animagus form was a rat was the cause of many a snide remark, and the fact that he was shorter and rounder than his three best friends didn't help him either.

"Oh, it was ok, you know…" he said, in a small voice, a little nervous about the fact that he was talking to Lily Evans, as though he were an equal. James seemed to worship the girls for years and years now, and as Peter worshipped James, any one that James put on a pedestal was practically a god to Wormtail.

"Did you spend it with your family?" she prompted encouragingly, as the rest of the group began to talk amongst themselves. Wormtail nodded.

"Mum mostly. Dad was at work most of the time."

"Are your parents wizards?" she asked, scanning her brain frantically for something to say, Wormtail not providing much help.

He nodded again, and Lily gave up for the moment, though she was determined, from that night on, to make an effort to get to know Peter Petigrew. Who knows, she might even be able to find a girl who would go out with him…

The thought of Peter being set up with any of Lily's friends made her laugh out loud, and she brushed off the weird looks that she received quickly, feeling guilty at her cruel out burst. But the thought was extremely funny. The short little man would barely reach half of her friend's chins.

Brushing aside all thought of Peter, Lily noticed that she had grown tired, the lulling movement of the flames in the fire putting her into a drowsy trance.

"I'm going to go to bed. You coming?" she asked Dani. Dani gave Sirius a quick glance, and then shook her head. Rolling her eyes, Lily gave James a quick kiss on the top of the head, and dragged her feet up the staircase and flopped down on her four poster, completely exhausted.

"Oh Lily it's beautiful!" Ella gushed, when Lily showed her her new necklace before the girls went down to breakfast the next morning. Ella had gotten back to the castle only moments after Lily had gone to bed the previous night, and she and Dani were both yawning consistently throughout the morning.

"What's got the two of you so tired?" Lily asked Ella in a whisper, as the headed out of the common room and passed groggy looking figures in the halls.

"We both wanted the common room to ourselves last night, and before either of us realised it was two in the morning and all four of us had to go to bed!"

"All four of- Oh." Lily laughed, when she realised why each wanted the common room to themselves. "When are you and Remus going to tell everyone that you're, you know, together?"

Ella rolled her eyes, and gave a fleeting glance to Dani, who was walking with Sirius up ahead of them, puffy eyed and unenergetic.

"I don't know. He says that the guys will be absolutely _unbearable_ with 'I told you so's' when they find out, and I know that he's damn well right, but I think that they already sort of worked it out, like we all did with you and James."

"Hey! I told you about James and I! Remember?"

"You told us that he kissed you, you have no idea how long it took before we confirmed that you were actually going out!" Ella laughed, as they neared the Great Hall.

"That's because we never actually confirmed it ourselves." Lily said, giggling. "We just sort of, are."

Ella laughed. "Yeah, well, the heads up would have been nice. We spent a whole while trying to work out weather you were snogging or studying when you went off to the library!"

"Studying!''

Ella gave Lily a sceptical look, a maniacal glint in her eye. Lily seemed to deflate, and mumbled.

"Ok, most of the time we were studying…"

"Anyway, Slughorn's having a dinner tonight, and he want us three to come, even though I've turned him down every time for three years." Ella said, sitting down and rolling her eyes.

"Er, yeah, except James said that you would like to go to the last one, for some reason, so now the three of us are his golden students. Well, except for Snape, but you know what I mean…"

"Why the hell would James sauy that?"

"I don't know, but we didn't go to the last one because Sirius was in the hospital wing. I'm going to this one, please come. We'll have fun, I promise. We'll make it fun." Lily said, very quickly, looking at Ella with her best puppy dog eyes.

"And I wont have to talk to Snape?" Ella bargained, comprehensively. Lily's eyes lit up.

"I promise! If he comes anywhere near us then we'll hide under the table!"

"And Remus will be there?"

"With bells on!"

"Where am I going, and why am I wearing bells?" Remus said, tired, sitting down opposite them.

"Slughorn's party! Remember?" Lily said, kicking him under the table.

"Ella? Ella you're going to that?" he said, confused, "I thought you hated those sort of things."

"I know, but Lily made me promise that I'll go, and I don't have to talk to Snape, and you'll be there, so it can't be that bad." She said, smiling at him. Remus looked as though he had opened his mouth to argue, but when she said the last part of the sentence his confidence fell.

"Oh alright. Lily, you are pure evil." He said, laying his head on the table. "James this is all your fault. I am going to spend a night with Severus Snape, locked in a dungeon."

"Oh don't be so melodramatic." Lily said, hitting him over the head. James looked confused as he sat down, a little behind Remus, and eyed them suspiciously.

"Why are you going to be doing that Moony?" James asked, not understanding Lily. "Got a hot date with Snivellus?"

"Remus shot him a dirty look, and Lily and Ella laughed heartily.

"No! I have just been conned into attending one of Slughorn's dinners tonight, _Prongs_." Lupin said, through gritted teeth, feeling tired and hard done by.

"Ohh. Oops." Said James, remembering the reason Remus had been invited in the first place. "You remember though? You can't let anything-"

"Shut up Prongs and have some trust you stupid stag!" Remus groaned, jokingly. James laughed, however, Remus didn't seem to have the energy for that; he laid his head down in the hard wood of the table and dozed off to sleep.

"You know, we could have a lot of fun with this." Sirius said, drawing himself away from the conversation that he had been having with Dani at the sight of Moony's sleeping figure.

"Hand in warm water?"

"Shaving cream moustache?"

"Shave off an eyebrow?"

"For goodness sake!" cried Lily, causing Remus to stir slightly. She lowered her voice to a whisper. "You two are wizards! Can't you think of anything more creative?"

"Turn Moony's face blue?"

"Make him sing in his sleep?"

"Make him declare his undying love for Ella in his sleep!"

"Make him sleepwalk up to McGonagal and dance on the teachers table?"

"Save these for next time Snivellus falls asleep at the table?"

"Ok!"

Sirius and James went back to eating their breakfast politely, in silence. They stoped when they noticed that the girls were staring at them as though they were insane.

"What?" said Sirius, his mouth full of scrambled eggs.

"One, Padfoot, that is gross, and two; why the hell did you bother making up all of that if you weren't even going to use it?" Lily quipped. James stopped eating and looked at her very mater-of-factly.

"Well Lily, we have to keep the creative juices flowing, and for another thing, rule number two of the marauders is never prank a fellow marauder."

"Well what about all those times that you prank Peter?" Lily asked, slightly amused. Peter's head perked up. "Yeah! What about all those times eh?"

"Well…" James and Sirius seemed to ponder on that for a moment. "Peter doesn't count, it's funny when we do something to him. But make Remus dance for the whole school in his sleep is most likely going to come back and hit us smack in the face the next time that James and I want him to skip prefect duties and sneak off to Hogsmeade, isn't it?"

Lily rolled her eyes, and didn't even want to know the answer to when Remus had ever consented to skiving off prefect duties.

That night she and Ella went down to the common room and met a resentful Remus Lupin, who begrudgingly accompanied the girls down to Slughorn's office.

A dull tinkle of music emitting form an old gramophone was seeping through the crack under Slughorn's door and when they were ushered in by a cheery little house elf, Remus, Lily and Ella found themselves presented with about twenty familiar faces, including Slughorn's red one, which was positively beaming at their presence.

"You finally made it! Come in come in!"" he roared merrily, and showed them seats next to each other at the long table that had been conjured to run the length of the warm, cluttered office.

"Lily Evans! What a surprise! I thought you'd forgotten where to find me!" Slughorn said, as Lily lingered behind to talk to her professor.

"Didn't want to be seen with a Slytherin like you Professor, I'm head girl now! What would people think of me?"

Slughorn laughed, and patted her on the back.

"Never give up, do you Evans?" he boomed in a paternal way.

"No sir. No I don't." she laughed and sat down beside Remus. She was horrified to see who was shown the seat next to her.

"Evans." Sneered Severus Snape, his lip curling at the sight of her.

"Severus." She greeted, coldly, not looking side ways at the arrogant Slytherin. Remus groaned. James would kill him if he knew that Remus had allowed this kind of place setting at the table.

"Er, Lily, would you like to swap places? " she gave him a look as though he were a mad convict escaped from Azkaban, as he had expected that she would.

"Er, it's just that it's closer to the turkey Lil, and you know how I like turkey!"

"That's chicken Remus." Lily said dully, looking at him with a raised eyebrow, as though she knew that James somehow had something to do with this.

"Of Course, that's what I meant!" Remus stammered quickly, but Lily was not fooled. Enticed to play the game, she reached over and handed the chicken to Remus, setting it down in front of his plate with a clatter, and a sweet grin.

"There you are. Much easier than moving and all, don't you think?"

Snape looked confused, but tried to cover it up with his characteristic sneering indifference, and Lily looked smug, that she had caught Remus out in the game.

James had put him up to this. He was there to keep an eye on Lily, and make sure that Severus didn't try anything sly. But she knew better. And it was her turn to have some fun and break rule number two; never prank a marauder…

A/N: hope you like that one! My Christmas fluff is over, and I am getting way ahead of myself. Sorry about all my spelling mistakes, I don't really take that much care in things like that; I think everyone's noticed…I will try and get around to fixing some of them up, but for the moment I think I'll just have fun and keep updating! Thankyou so much to my reviewers, you make my day! I am so addicted to reading them, they make me so happy! Just a little cliffy for you there, though I don't think that I will really be, because I'm so excited about writing the next chapter that it should be up tomorrow…all this came to me at work tonight, and I don't care how long I'm up for, I'm writing it all down now, or I'll forget it when I fall asleep! Please Review, whether you liked the story or not…and if you've got a L/J fic that's good please send it to me, because it's the holidays! And I have no life until after Christmas! Love you all!

**Luv Ella xXx**


	20. Seducing' Snivellus

Lily smiled sweetly at Snape, and offered him the pumpkin. _I'm going to have to do this without being cruel to Snape at the same time…_she thought, furrowing her eyebrows. Snape, however, gave the platter she held out a disdainful look, and spat his words as he told her off.

"I don't want them now that you've got your filthy germs all over them, you stupid little mudblood." He sneered, and turned away from her. Lily's eyes narrowed, and all kind thoughts for the greasy little boy went flying form her head at a hundred miles an hour. _On second thought, it might be a little like killing two birds with one stone…_

Remus saw her looking at Snape, intently, and his heart began to thud loudly in his chest. He couldn't let them talk. James was going to kill him, and he knew it. If Prongs had walked in then and seen the seating arrangements then he probably would have cursed everything in sight, just out of anguish. Lupin sighed. It was going to be a very long night.

"Severus." Lily addressed Snape kindly, putting on her most pleasant face and smiling at him. Snape looked taken aback, and she smiled even wider. "Can you please pass me the pumpkin juice?" she said, sugar coating her words so that her voice sounded smooth and sultry. She giggled as she took the jug from him, with a small giggle. Remus groaned, and Snape looked very taken aback. Inside, Lily's roared with triumph, though she tried not to let it show on her face.

Snape was scared. It had to be a trick. Set up by James Potter and Sirius Black. It was every boy at Hogwarts' dream to be flirting with Lily Evans, despite the fact that she was muggleborn. Snape looked around the room for some sign of the two troublemakers, but couldn't see the merest of traces. He went back to staring at his food. The point on his hand tingled where Lily's had grazed his, and he tried to suppress a grin at the thought.

Lily smiled. So far, the plan was working, she thought, as Remus grew more and more flustered, and knocked something off the table. Inspired, Lily waited for him to rise, and casually brushed her fork off the tabletop. Snape jumped at the noise, and crawled down to pick it up. Lily followed him.

"Thanks Severus, I didn't mean, to, so clumsy." She said in a fake smitten voice, playing with her hair as she had seen Dani do many times, when talking to Sirius and Matt. Snape couldn't hide a smile this time, and didn't try to. There were no pureblood wizards down here to judge him.

Lupin jumped when he realised that both the chairs on his right were empty, and he panicked when he saw the hem of Lily's skirt laying somewhere at his feet. They were under the table. Looking for something that would startle them, he noticed that Snapes spoon was hanging precariously at the edge of the table, and, in the spur of the moment, nudged it over the edge of the tabletop.

Coincidently, he had chosen the very moment that Snape had been rising to his seat, and a loud thud told them that it had made contact with Snapes head.

Dizzy, Snape fell to the floor, stars dancing in front of his eyes.

Lily poked her head up, and fighting the mad desire to laugh, helped Snape up as well.

"Remus! What the hell did you do that for!" she yelled. "Professor Slughorn! Severus is hurt, may I take him to the hospital wing sir?"

Slughorn, politely bewildered, nodded, and continued to feast on his turkey. Remus, however, jumped to his feet and began to follow them out of the door.

"Severus?" said Ella, confused at her friends sudden liking for the greasy little Slytherin.

"Professor, I need to go with them!" Lupin said, on his way out of the door.

"Oh no Remus, don't worry." Said lily, smiling. "I think I can't manage. And besides, I wouldn't want to deprive you from your feast." She wanted to add something about him _so wanting to be there_ but felt that it might blow her cover dramatically, and held her tongue.

"Yes yes Lupin, sit down, and try some of the fig, it's delicious!" boomed Slughorn, smiling paternally at Lily, and gesturing for Remus to retain his seat.

Torn, Remus sat back down beside Ella, and raised her eyebrows.

'What was all of that about?" she asked him. Remus groaned.

"James wanted me to look out for Lily, because Snape likes her, and I had to keep them from talking to each other, but then I hit him in the head with a spoon and they'll be all buddy buddy in the hospital wing." He said, somewhat hysterically.

"But lily would never like Snape, would she?" Ella asked, the hint of a laugh in her voice. Lupin shrugged.

"They seemed to be getting along quite well just then, didn't they? And she's always standing up for him when Sirius and James play pranks on him. I don't really know what she thinks about him though."

Ella did. She knew that Lily though Snape was a greasy git, who was always calling her a mudblood and taunting James for the same thing. Lily was one of his favourite people to degrade, however, something wasn't right, and she wasn't going to reassure Remus on a mere whim.

"We need to go and tell the others. We can't let them be up there, alone." She whispered to him. Lupin looked frantic.

"Prongs will kill me!" he said in a frustrated murmur.

"Yeah, well how would you like it if just was me spending a night with Snape." Lupins face blanched at the thought, and he jumped form the table, grabbing her by the hand.

"Need to be going Professor!" Remus said, talking to Slughorn as they prepared to run from the room.

"Er, hospital wing." And they bounded out of Slughorn's office, leaving a very confused Slug Club in their wake.

Slughorn eyed Lupin's plate cautiously. "Steer clear of the pumpkin everyone." He announced, before the table broke into cheerful chatter once more.

Meanwhile, in the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey was eyeing the egg on Snapes head curiously.

"And he was hit on the head by a dessert spoon?" she asked, raising her eyebrow sceptically at Lily, who nodded her head sympathetically, looking at the large lump.

"How do you get hit on the head with a spoon?" she inquired. Lily shrugged, and tried to look bashful.

"Well Miss, we were under the tables see…"

"Under the table? But I thought that you were with Potter?" she said, jumping eagerly at the gossip.

"Not that sort of under the table miss." Lily said, blatantly, smirking at Snape in triumph as his face fell, and he eyed her, eyes narrowed, over his abnormally large nose.

"Oh," the nurse replied, her face falling. "Well, I will have to keep him here over night, I think that he has mild conclusion, nothing major. You are free to go when you wish Miss Evans."

Lily didn't say another word, but left the hospital wing as fast as she could. This was when the real fun would begin. It was turning out better than she had ever fathomed.

Raising her wand, Lily tapped herself on the top of the head, and felt as though someone had cracked an egg over her head, as trickling spines of the spell dribbled down her back and over her face. The disillusionment charm had made her appear the exact colour and texture of the hard stonewall beside her, and she ran down the halls, searching for her friends.

Lily didn't meet anyone until she was near the Griffindore common room. It was late, and students should have been back in their common rooms by now, with the exception of those who had been invited by Slughorn to his party, and those doing detentions until late in the night.

Lily hear a movement from around the corner. She stopped short, and flattened herself against a wall. Filch, the caretaker, rounded the corner, a lamp in his hand, and his cat at his heels. Filch's yellow teeth were bared menacingly, and he sneered at the shadows. Mrs Norris went right up to Lily, and sniffed at her feet. He tried to hold her breath, and even stop her heart from beating, just for a moment. What would happen if the head girl were caught sneaking around after hours?

"Come on lovely." Filch soothed his cat, " There's no one here."

Filch walked on, slowly creeping his way around the school slowly.

Lily breathed a sigh of relief, and continued to walk, but it wasn't long before she heard another sound. Flattening herself against the wall again, she listened carefully, and watched the corner intently.

The cause of the footsteps, however, never appeared, and Lily was about to move again, when she heard a whisper, equal to where she was disguised.

"Stop." The deep voice murmured. At first Lily thought it was talking to her, and thought the worst.

"What? Can you see something?" hissed a second voice.

"Can't you smell that?" the first voice talked again. A third voice was there now.

"Oh shut up Wormtail, stop squeaking!" it reprimanded in a whisper. Lily stifled a laugh. She had found her target.

"Even with Wormtail as a rat, I don't see how we can still fit under this thing." Came Sirius's aggravated voice again.

"We can. Tug on the cloak a little Padfoot, you're foots peeking out." Remus replied, rushed.

And it was. Lily noticed the tip of something close to the floor disappear in a flourish, before Sirius spoke again.

"Why have we stopped?" he asked.

"I can't believe the three of you cant smell it." He said.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I think Wormtail can, he's going crazy."

"No you dolt, not food." James said, rolling his eyes. "It's like a flower. Only prettier. You remember that time Slughorn showed us that love option? It smells like that stuff." He whispered.

Lily gasped., and sniffed. She was wearing her perfume, the one she'd been wearing for years now. It smelt like tiger lilies. Lily tried not to smile at the though of James knowing about it, so as not to betray he disguise.

"We don't have time for this James." Sirius commented, slightly amused. "While you're stopping to smell the flowers, Lily could be off somewhere being snogged by Snivellus."

"She's not. She's not, she'

s not, she's not." Remus said. There was a squeak, and a thud, as Peter tried to comment and James's hand collided with Lupin's head.

"Hey! What was that for?" Remus asked, rubbing the spot on the back of his skull where James had hit him,

"This is all your fault! If you'd just looked after her like we'd talked about- Ow!" All of a sudden you could see the feet of all the boys, as though the loud under the cloak had increased very suddenly…

"Wormtail! What did you do that for?" James asked, exasperated.

"Because," he squeaked, quietly, "I know why James can smell the flowers! Lily's around here somewhere, that's why he could smell what he thought was a love potion!"

"Sao she's here somewhere? Does that mean that Snapes here too? Well done Wormtail, that was a stroke of brilliance that I wouldn't have thought possible from you!" James said. "Wonder where they are?"

"Maybe they're under James' invisibility cloak!" suggested Wormtail, keen to be called brilliant by James again. Instead, James sniggered.

"You remember that thing that I said about you being brilliant Wormtail?" he said, Wormtail nodded proudly.

"Yeah, well, I was wrong."

"Why? It was a perfectly good answer!"

"Except Peter, that we're under the cloak…" Remus said, rolling his deep grey eyes impatiently.

"What?" asked Peter, and Lily saw him emerge quickly from under the cloak, and she had to hide a laugh at the terrified look on his face.

"You mean Snape and Lily are under there as well!" he asked madly. Sirius groaned.

"No, he means that they can't be using the cloak, now get back under here you dolt!"

Peter disappeared again, sheepishly. This time, it was James who came out form under the cloak.

"Ok, we're going to split up. I'll stay here, with the map, and you three take the cloak and see if they're still in the hospital wing." He said, and Lily noticed the frantic look that crossed over hi8s face as he ruffled up his hair, worried. She waited until the others were well and gone before she spoke to James, who was looking around the area madly.

"Stop playing with your hair Prongs, you know I hate it when you do that." She laughed, as the charm lifted and relief passed through ever inch of James Potter's body.

"Where the hell were you?" he asked, bringing her into a rib-crunching embrace, and whispering in her ear. "Where's Snape?"

"You didn't think that I would actually fall for Snape, did you?" Lily laughed, her soft voice warming up his neck. "But that's what you get for getting Remus to spy on me Potter."

James pulled away, looking startled. "How the hell…"

"Never mind, lets go back to the common room." Lily laughed, and James draped his arm around her neck.

"What about the others?" she asked, when they were practically at the fat lady's portrait.

"They'll see us on the map."

"James. You have the map."

"Oh. Right." He looked for a moment as though he were going to go back, but thought better of it.

"Hmmmm. I'll bet that Peter's a rat again…" he said, a mischievous grin spreading over his face as he thought. Lily looked apprehensive.

"So…"

"So, you shouldn't be the only one to have fun tonight." He grinned widely, and raised his wand.

"Accio Wormtail." He muttered, and it was a few moments before a rat came zooming down the halls towards them, squeaking in fright.

Ew! Well, that caused me so much pain to write about Lily flirting with Snape. Grrr. I hate Snape. I got some pleasure out of making Wormtail fly as a rat through the school though, so all in all not the worst chapter to write…. Please all read and review and the next one should be up in the next couple of days! Luv everyone who reviews, all of you! Hope your having a happy holidays!

Luv Ella Evans xXx


	21. The mouse with Turquoise Eyes

**Well Merry Christmas everyone! I wrote this last night, and it's currently 5.53 on Christmas morning in Australia (i woke up early to post this coz I'm not meant to be going on the net today, lol. I couldn't resist.) The rest of the house will wake up 6, so i've got to be quick. I hope that u all like this chapter. Lots of Ella and Lupin. I love Lupin. I hadn't had a real good chap on him for a while, so here it is. And there is a little bit of fluff. Anyways, luv u's all, harry a good holidays,**

**luv Ella Evans xXx**

* * *

James kept an increasingly close eye on Lily after that. She rolled her eyes at him, laughing, often heard to comment that he would never learn his lesson, but the night he thought she was with Snape had scared him, and he was keen never to let Lily go again. 

"Lily, what's that around your neck?" asked Ella, when the girls were getting ready for bed one night. Lily grinned. She hadn't gone out of her way to show her friends James' Christmas present. Dani and Ella stood next to her, in front of the mirror.

"Lily it's beautiful!" Dani exclaimed, holding the charm delicately in her fingers. "Did James give you that?" Lily nodded, grinning.

"Awww." Squealed Ella, turning it over and seeing the inscription. "That's gorgeous! Who would have thought that Potter had it in him?"

Dani flopped down backwards onto her bed.

"Who would have thought that any of this would happen?"

Lily sat down next to her, on the edge of her bed. "Trust me, I know what you mean."

"What are you staring at Ella?" Lily asked, a second later, when she noticed that her friend hadn't followed Dani and herself onto the bed, but was standing at the window, looking intently up at the stars.

"We only have a few more months here guys." She said, though not sounding as sad as Lily would have had she been the one talking. Dani sat up.

"What is it?"

Ella turned back to face them, a small grin on her face.

"Well, I was talking to Remus today…he wants me to move in with him when we leave here…he found a place in London…" she trailed off, and the others jumped to their feet and squealed in delight.

"You're kidding!" Dan I yelled, jumping up and down. "Why didn't you say so sooner!"

Ella looked uncomfortable for moment, and Lily realised. "What was Remus going to do when they left Hogwarts? Where would he make his transformations? Would the marauders still be there to keep him in check?"

"I don't know…" she said, "I didn't know how you would react."

She emphasised the last few words, with a meaningful look at Lily, who nodded.

That night when Dani finally calmed down after the evenings excitement, and the other two went to their beds, Ella crept over in the darkness, and lay beside Lily. Lily rolled over.

"What are you going to do? Did you say yes?" Lily asked, trying not to look too concerned. As though they were talking about the weather.

"I trust him. I really do, I was just thinking…I would need your help…and James'…" she trailed off. Lily knew what it was that she was getting at, and she smiled at the extent to which she would go for Remus.

"I'll ask him." Lily said kindly. Ella beamed.

"But you know that it won't be easy, don't you. It took them five years to do it…"

"I know, I know. And I know that it's illegal but I have to. It's the only thing that I can think of."

"I promise I'll talk to James."

"Thankyou so much. Night Lils."

"See you El."

"James!" Lily said over enthusiastically the next morning, when she came down to the common room. James looked taken aback at her more than warm welcome, and she wrapped her arms around him and grabbed him into a giant hug. Sirius, Remus and Peter just stared in astonishment as her forwardness.

"I need your help." She whispered in his ear.

"Anything, if you greet me like this every morning." James muttered back. They broke apart.

"You guys go down without us, ok? Well catch you up later." James told his friends. Before Ella left, she turned back from a confused Dani and mouthed words to Lily.

_Thankyou._

Lily laughed, and shooed her away with her hands.

"Now, what do you want my help with?" James asked, grabbing her hand and tilting his head to the side, concerned.

"Ella does." Lily explained.

"What? Why?"

"Because Remus asked her to move in with him…"

"What? Ella and Remus? Since when?" James exclaimed, a maniacal grin on his ecstatic face.  
"What are you blind?" Lily said wildly, laughing, "Since we first hooked up!"

"You're kidding! I mean, I knew that it was going to happen some time, but I didn't know that they were, like, together…"

"Anyway, now that we've gotten past that." Lily said, exasperated, "We need to help her."

"What does she need my help with? Does she want me to say yes for her or something?" James asked absurdly. Lily snorted.

"We're not in first grade James! No! She wants you to help her become an animagus."

James was tunned.

"She what? Does she know how _hard_ that was?"

"Yes, she does, but she'll do anything for him James, please." Lily begged. James looked sceptical.

"Does he know that she's doing this?" he asked. Lily shook her head.

"He found a place to live after Hogwarts, and he want to know if she'll come with him. It's in London. But he said that he totally understands if she doesn't. He wont be any different if she wants to stay how they are until the end of Hogwarts, he just didn't know if she wanted to move that far away…"

Ella's parents lived in Australia, and she had been looking for a place in London. Remus must have known that. It was all perfect, except for one little problem…a furry little problem…

"So, will you do it?" Lily asked, looking nervously at James.

He kissed her lightly.

"Of course." He said. "If I can help Peter do it then Ella should be easy."

They went down to breakfast.

"Morning." James said brightly to the group. Ella chocked on her orange juice.

"Calm down Ella, you right there? It's ok." He pointed his wand at her, and he regained her breath.

"Really?" she asked not really talking about the orange juice anymore.

"Hell yeah!" James said, smiling.

"Thankyou so much." She noticed that the rest of the table were staring at the, confused, "Er, you saved my life…"

"Don't mention it." James said, trying to retain their casual code. No one was fooled. Lily noticed Ella open her mouth to say something else.

"_No really_, don't mention it." She said, and Ella closed it again, giggling.

Ella and James realised what they had done wrong, and so they didn't attempt to discuss the prospect of animagus lessons until the end of breakfast, when the three friend stayed behind, pretending to clean up some cereal that Ella had spilt.

"Thankyou so much James."

"I can't believe that the two of you didn't, I don't know, make some sort of announcement that you were going out."

"Neither did you two!"

"Yeah, but, you know…what were we meant to say? Hello everyone, just so that you know, we're together!"

"Exactly."

Lily talked for the first time.

"Could have done what Dani and Sirius did though, grab each other and just start snogging!"

"Dani and Sirius?" cried Ella, her eyes widening.

"Oh, you weren't there for that…we need to start gossiping again."

"I'll say." Ella nodded, and James gave them a weird look.

"Ok, now that we've got past that, when do you want to start Ella? Is tonight good for you?" Ella beamed, and hugged James. Lily just laughed.

"Where could we do it though?" she asked, her ecstasy dieing a little at the thought. James and Lily shared a smile.

"We know somewhere."

Ella was just as amazed at the room of requirement as Lily had been. Her mouth dropped open in incredulity when she saw that the room was lined with books on transforming, and the walls were covered with pictures of animals.

"Now, are you sure that you want to do this?" James asked Ella, as Lily sat down to watch them, and picked up a book.

"The first couple of times it can be a little painful, and it's really dangerous." Ella nodded, and didn't even flinch slightly at his words.

_Remus is pretty lucky. _Thought James, as he watched Ella brace herself for what she was about to do. He allowed his thoughts to wander for a moment, and his eyes fell on Lily, who was sitting on a large cushion, reading a book called; friend or foe?;Animagus gone bad. _So am I…_

He thought with a smile.

"Ok El, now, I want you to fill your body with determination, ok. This could take some getting used to. A little like the force that it takes to apperate. It wasn't that hard when we did it, I've never wanted to do something so badly in my entire life, but-"

"Neither have I, don't worry, I'm plenty determined enough." Said Ella, fiercely.

"I know that, I know you are, but allow it to flood you, feel the determination, and don't think of anything else for a moment."

Ella stood there, and Lily watched as her face because pink, and tears seemed to well in her eyes and make them glassy as she thought of the situation at hand.

"Very good Ella." Lily said, and gave James a look. He was confused. He hadn't noticed, as much as Lily had, however, he didn't really have any doubt in this part of the process. It was the next part that he was scared about.

"Now, you need to focus on one part of your body first. This will take a while. Don't expect to do it tonight. If you're determined enough, then it will happen, but please, please don't expect that much of yourself. And don't go over board and try and imagine your whole body changed at once, because then you might not even change into the right animal, it could be something completely different, and probably smaller, which isn't good, considering what you want it for. Now, ok, focus. Try, maybe your arm first. Your hand, ok, lets try and do your hand."

Ella nodded, and looked down at her hand. She was determined. More determined to do this than she had ever been in her life. She could do it. Even if James though it would take her longer, what did that mean to her if she knew that she could change it, right there, right now.

There was a pop, and where Ella's hand used to be was the hoof of a horse.

Ella cried out, and tears of pain sprung cruelly into her turquoise eyes, but she blinked them back, and smiled at the place where her hand used to be. Lily let out a triumphant whoop, but James just stared, in utter astonishment.

"How the ruddy hell did you do that?" he asked her. Ella shrugged.

"I haven't even _read _about someone doing it that easily." He stuttered. Lily laughed, and Ella shrugged, her hoof falling to her side. "I guess no one's ever been as determined as me before."

"Ok, I'll get rid of it. Cool animal though, I think you're a horse." Lily said, and pointed her wand, uttering a simple incantation, which changes animagus back to their human form.

"I think that's enough for tonight El. It hurts, doesn't it?" Ella was cradling her arm, where the hoof had been. It felt weak and sore. But she shook her head.

"Not as much as what he goes though each month. I'm keeping on going James." Ella said bravely. Neither of her friends needed to ask what she was talking about.

"Ok, but still practise on something little. Your foot, or arm, or- ELLA!" James cried. Ella had transformed, completely, but she wasn't a horse this time. A tiny wood mouse squeaked up at them from where she once stood, in obvious distress. Lily picked Ella up on the palm of her hand.

"Oh this is not good." She said. James ran his hand through his hair.

"This happened to Padfoot once.'

"Can I change her back?"

"Er, no, that wont work. It takes two or three days to wear off…" Lily clasped her free hand to her mouth, and Ella shrieked and ran around in panicked circle on Lily's hand.

"Well then, how are we going to keep this from Remus?" she cried. James put his arm around her.

"Don't worry, we'll think of something."

"Say that her mothers sick?"

"After him using that excuse for years? I don't think he'd buy it James."

"Don't worry Lily, it'll be alright, I promise you. You two Ella!" he added louder, peering down at her. Ella clapped her hands over her tiny, pointy ears.

"Oh, sorry." He said.

They crept back through the castle, under James' invisibility cloak.

When they got back to the common room, however, they found their first obstacle.

Remus was lying, almost asleep on the lounge chair by the fire, and jumped to his feet when they entered.

"Lily, James!" he cried, looking disappointed and sitting back down. "I thought that Ella was with you. Where were you all tonight?"

"Er, prefect meeting?" James tried, hopefully.

"Prongs you idiot, I'm a prefect too." He said, looking at them strangely.

"Oh! Well then! Er, night! Ella's going to be out later, asked us to tell you not to wait up!" Lily said. James ran up to their dormitory, and Lily went to leave a dejected looking Lupin, but he stopped her, resting a hand on her arm.

"Lily." He said sadly.

"Mmm?" she said, trying to act as vague as she could. A movement in her pocket told her that Ella was listening intently to everything that they said.

"Listen, I know that she's avoiding me," Lily went to argue, but found that she didn't have anything that she could really say otherwise. Remus sat slowly on the couch, and pointed for Lily to do the same. His expression was so upset that she couldn't refuse.

There was a loud squeak from Lily pocket, and she sat up abruptly, adjusting herself so that she wasn't sitting on Ella's tail.

"What was that?" asked Remus. Lily's eyes widened. "Nothing, keep going."

"Listen, I asked Ella to live with me when we leave the other night, and I don't think that she took it all that well." He explained.

"Has she said anything to you or Dani about it? She seemed fine today. Distant, but fine. We went for a walk around the lake and she was talking just fine, but- what was that?" something had snorted in Lily's pocket, and she groaned inwardly. Silently willing Ella not to laugh again, she looked at Remus apologetically, and urged him to continue.

"Well, it's just that, I was thinking, maybe she's changed her mind. Maybe she doesn't want to know about it. I should have kept my big mouth shut. Of course she wouldn't want to live with, with er…with someone like me. And now I've ruined what we've had here, and she wont even see me so that I can make it right." He finished glumly. Ella couldn't help it. She dared to stick her tiny head out of the brim of Lily's pocket, and looked at the depressed expression on Remus' face, letting out a distressed squeak. Lily groaned. Lupin had seen the mouse.

"What's that?" he asked, reaching out so that Ella could climb onto his hand.

"Er, Christmas present. From my parents." Lily lied.

"Your parents are muggles. This looks really magical."

"Why would you say that?" asked Lily, her voice becoming higher.

"Look at her beautiful eyes. They're bright turquoise. No ordinary mouse has eyes like that…they're almost like…" he trailed off.

"See Lily. I'm going crazy just thinking about her. Please get her to talk to me. I don't know what I'd do with out her. Night." He said, and walked up to his dormitory. The mouse's eyes were glazed over with tears, and Lily carried Ella up to their own dormitory.

The next morning, Lily awoke, and immediately looked at the tiny bed she had conjured on her beside table, where Ella sat, sitting on the side of the miniature bed, staring up at Lily sadly.

"Don't worry sweetie, he'll know in the end." She said. "Or, do you want James and I to tell him now?"

The mouse shook its head vigorously. Lily knew why. Remus wouldn't want Ella to go to all that trouble for him, and he would feel responsible for the bad transformation, no matter how much they told him otherwise.

"So, what are we going to do today? Are you coming to classes with James and me, or are you going to stay here all day and think about Remus?" Ella put her tiny, clawed paw up, and scratched her fury chin in mock thoughtfulness.

"Ok, nod your head for thinking about Remus…" she sat there, stationary.

"And coming to class?" the mouse nodded her head, pointed nose moving up and down.

"Good choice. Now, do you want anyone else to know?" she asked. Ella shook her head. "Ok then. I'll make up an excuse for you, don't worry about it."

The mouse hugged Lily's finger, and she picked Ella up and sat her in her top pocket.

"Lily?" said Dani, "why are you talking to a mouse?"

Lily jumped, and Ella squeaked. Dani was sitting bolt up right in bed, giving the pair of them a very weird look. Lily laughed awkwardly.

"I don't know, but have I introduced you? This is Leal, mum and dad got her for me for Christmas." Lily held the mouse up to Dani's eye level, and she smiled, and tickled Ella's stomach, making her giggle ion squeaks and burst. Dani laughed.

"Cute." She said, grinning. "And you talk to her? Isn't she a muggle mouse?"

"Er, no, they found an owl order form in my bed room. I've wanted a mouse for a while now…" she lied lamely. Dani, however, was easily fooled.

"Yeah, she's a cutie." Lily said, and the girls got ready and went down to breakfast.

"Lily? What that moving in your pocket?" Sirius said, leaning across the table and whispering. Lupin noticed.

"Is it that mouse again?" he said, confused. He was still put out from when they had told him that Ella was sick in bed.

"Er, yeah."

"Mouse? Are you going to put it down Snape's back? Because I should probably warn you, he's been aware of that one since we were in second year-"

"No." said Lily quickly, not wanting to hear the details of whatever horrible prank he and James had played at the age of twelve. "No, she's my pet. I got her for Christmas."

"And you bring her to breakfast with you?" Lupin asked, his brow creasing in confusion as he realised that something was not right.

"Mmm, yeah, I thought I might take her around with me, you know? Show her Hogwarts?"

"Show the mouse Hogwarts? That's kind of weird Lil." Said Sirius.

"Er, double electives first guys!" James said, in a desperate attempt to distract them from the mystery of the mouse. "That should be fun eh!"

They began to talk, breaking up into meaningless chatter about homework and other things, while James and Lily breathed a sigh of relief, as did Ella from Lily's pocket.

"We're going to have to be careful." Lily whispered to him.

"Tell me about it." James hissed back.

They reached the common room that night, and flopped down onto the lounge, exhausted.

"What's got you two so tired?" asked Dani, before she sat down on the edge of Sirius' chair, and looked at James and Lily. James sighed. He couldn't share with them the fact that he and Lily had spent the day scaring off cats, and chasing a scared mouse around the floor of the kitchens as they tried to steal her food.

"Do you think that Ella's ok now Lily?" Lupin asked, from where he was sitting opposite them. Lily sat up quickly.

"What?" she snapped, thinking that he was talking about the bump on the head she received when Lily had dropped her, however, it was only a few moments before she and James realised that he was looking pensively at the door to the girls dormitory.

"Oh. I don't know, I guess I could check." Dani raised her eyebrow.

"What do you mean? Where has she been today anyway?"

"Er, she's been up at our dormitory, she's sick in bed."

"No she's not! I was just up there!" Dani said, perplexed.

"Oh, right, maybe she's in the hospital wing then…"

"No she's-"

"Sirius!" James cut him off, as he went to contradict Lily, "Come up to the dorm with Lily and I, ok? We need to talk!"

"What about?' Sirius asked, screwing up his nose in disorientation.

"That's what we need to talk about Padfoot, come on now!" James grabbed him by the arm, and dragged him up to the boy's dorm. Lily ran after them, the mouse hanging dangerously out of her pocket.

"What is all of this about?" Sirius asked, as they sat him down on his bed with a plonk. Lily took Ella out of her pocket.

"Stick out you hand Padfoot."

"No! Why?"

"Just do it!" Sirius put out his hand, and lily sat Ella on it. She waved up happily.

"What? You've already shown me Leal Lily, what do you want to talk about?" Sirius asked. Ella put her tiny hands to her head in exasperation.

"No Padfoot. Remember that time back in fourth year, when we were trying to learn how to become animagus, and you had an…accident?" James asked, slowly. Sirius' eyes widened.

"Who…Nooooo." He peered down at Ella, and raised her up so that they were ye to eye. "Ella?"  
The mouse nodded sadly, and plonked back down. Sirius laughed.

"Ow!" he cried, as her tiny teeth dug into his finger. "Ok, ok, I won't laugh…"

"Why did she want to become an animagus anyway?" James begrudgingly told his friend the story, and Lily flopped down onto James' bed. The mouse was rolling around on the ground in anguish, trying desperately trying to do something, but for some reason not being able to. James was the first to notice, when he had finished the story and Sirius was sitting down on the bed, staring at his hands. He looked up when he heard James, pointing to the floor.

"Er, Lily, is she ok?" James asked, gesturing at Ella.

Lily took one look at Ella, and knew, as a result of knowing her for seven years now, what was causing her the excruciating pain. She rolled back onto the bed, carelessly.

"Ignore her. She wants more than anything to pay me out, and make some sort of line concerning me, you and this bed." Lily said blandly. Sirius snorted.

"So, is there anything that I can do to help?" Sirius asked. Lily sat up.

"Stop being an idiot and asking questions about the mouse." She said, obviously.

"And if you can, keep Lupin from going to the hospital wing." Sirius went white.

"What?"

"Well, you two have to baby sit a mouse! I have to keep Lupin away from _Ella_? Talk about giving me the hard task!"

They laughed, and went down to the common room, where, thankfully, everyone was still sitting, including Remus.

"Well, I'm not going to visit her." Lupin said. Lily's soft triumph was lost somewhat by the sad, lost look on Remus' face. " She obviously doesn't want to see me, so…"

He trailed off.

"I think I'll go up to the dormitory. I'll see everyone later."

"Remus, it's six thirty!" Dani said. Sirius gritted his teeth.

"Ok, nightie night!" Sirius said brightly. Remus gave him a weird look, before heading up to the dorm, his head bowed in defeat.

Lily felt in her pocket, to give Ella a reassuring pat, however, there was nothing there.

"James." She hissed. He didn't here her. "James!"

"What?" he whispered back.

"James, do you have Leal?" James' eyes widened, as he shook his head.

They both looked at Sirius. He shook his head.

Frantically searching the floor, they failed to notice that she was still up in the boy's dormitory….

Lupin threw himself onto his bed, disgusted in himself.

_What can I do? _He though, desperately. There seemed to be only one thing for it. Something he had seen Sirius do not that long ago… He grabbed his pillow and screamed into it as hard as he could.

When he stopped, and there was silence in the room, a tiny squeak could be heard, from down beside his bed.

"Leal." Lupin said, looking down at the mouse. "Sorry about that. I just can't believe it. I finally find a girl that I…that I…that I love, and I go and blow it…or more my bloody problem goes and blows it…I should have stayed in Chestervalle Le…"

Ella couldn't stand it anymore. She was more determined now than she thought she would ever be. If she could change into a horse when she was a person then why couldn't she do it when she was a mouse…it could get her into a whole lot more trouble…but it could stop Remus from doing anything stupid…

"What…" Remus gasped as the mouse began to grow. It was growing a mane, and a tail. Its nose was filling out, and its tiny paws were turning into large hooves.

And before he knew it, the horse's hooves and spindly legs were protruding, and making way for delicate arms and legs, and her hair was no longer a mane, but Ella's silky soft wavy locks, falling messily over her pretty face.

Remus gasped, and Ella fell down onto the ground, panting in pain.

"Ella!" he knelt down beside her. "Are you ok? What did you…what did you…how…" he gasped, and hugged her as she cried into his shoulder.

"I can do it!" she whispered, in between relieves sobs. "I did it Remus! I actually did it!"

"Shhh…" he soothed, stroking her hair, "It's ok, it's ok, you're ok now."

Ella calmed down, and he lowered her onto his bed, so that she was sitting there, her face red with recently shed tears, and her eyes pink and puffy. Remus sat down next to her.

"What happened? Why were you a mouse?" he asked, putting his arm around her. Ella gulped.

"You'll be mad." She said. "But I can do it now, ok, I can! You can't be mad now, I can do it!"

"You can do what?" he asked, worried.

So Ella told him the story of the last couple of days, and when she was done, she looked at him, hopefully.

Lupin smiled. "I am the luckiest guy in the world." He said, kissing her.

"Can we go and see the others? Only I want to tell James that I did it! And I know that Lily will-"

"Lupin! Have you seen Lea- Arghh!" Sirius jumped, when he saw who was sitting on the bed. "How the hell did you do that?" Ella grinned at him, and Lupin smiled. Sirius looked frightened.

"James! James Lily, get up here NOW!" Sirius called.

"Got Sirius, your such an idiot…" Lupin said, rolling his eyes.

"PRONGS!"

"What did you do to the real Ella?" he hissed at Ella. Ella laughed.

"I am the real Ella Sirius…"

"Ok then!" he cried, when James and Lily were almost up the stairs. "Ok, tell me something that the real Ella would know!"

"Well, I was a mouse for the last day…"

"Oi! Impostor! Remus is right there, shut up!" Sirius yelled.

"What's all the noise Sirius- Ella? How the hell did you do that?" James yelled, though not nearly as hysterically as Sirius, who had calmed down a little at the sight of James, and was now sitting on his bed. Lily stopped short of James, and stared at Ella.

"Wow. Ella?" Everyone in the room was looking at her and Remus, in disbelief.

Ella went red. "I guess I was just really determined." She said, grinning at James. James gave her a hi-five, and let out a triumphant whoop.


	22. The Red Emerald

Swimming with Padfoot and Prongs… 

**Hope you like it!**

"That is so cool." Said Dani, when they sat by the lake the next day. She, Lily and Ella had decided to spend some quality time without the boys, for one of the first times that year. They had concealed themselves behind some high cut shrubs near the edge of the lake, so that they could see Ella as a horse.

She smiled at her friend's reactions. Dani was quite vexed when she found out that the rest of the group knew a secret that she had not yet been let in on. However, Sirius had talked to her, and she seemed cheery enough. When she clapped and cheered so enthusiastically for the transformation, Lily realised that she was over it. She also realised that the time where the three of them kept secrets from each other was well and truly over, and she smiled at the thought. She didn't like the fact that the marauders arrival in their lives had pushed them apart.

"So, you're moving in with Remus hey?" Dani said, when they were lying down in the moist, thick grass that surrounded the lake, under the comforting shade of their favourite beech tree. Ella giggled.

"How weird does that sound?" she said, smiling up as the leaves cast a multitude of dappled light billowing across their faces. "Yeah. Not bad weird, just weird weird As in, 'I can't believe it' weird."

"I can believe it." Lily said, grinning. " I always knew that you two would end up together. Your perfect for each other." Ella murmured in content agreement, and Dani laughed. Her laughter, however, quickly subsided, and left a dull frown on her face. Looking sidewards, Lily noticed it.

"What's wrong Dan?" she asked. Ella rolled onto her stomach, and they faced their friend.

"I don't know, it's just, well, Sirius I guess. I love him and all, and I know that he's great, but can you seriously imagine us settling down and starting a family, or anything conventional like that? I mean, that's not real what I want anyway, but I don't know what he's even thinking about…already I'm his longest ever girl friend, and we've only been together since just before Christmas…"

"Just _before_ Christmas?"

"Werewolf Ella."

"Ok, I'll drop it."

"I don't know. He gets pretty worked up over You Know Who…" Dani trailed off, "Did you hear about his brother?"

Ella shook her head, and Lily said nothing.

"He dropped out last week, he's joined the Death Eaters now."

There was a silence so tense that Lily felt she could have reached out and shattered it with the tip of her finger.

"I hope-" Dani hesitated before continuing, as though she didn't trust herself to talk, "I hope he doesn't get too involved. Is that selfish?"

"No. I feel the exact same about James." Said Lily bracingly, "But there's no stopping those two. I guess we'll just have to help them…"

A silent understanding rose between the girls on that February afternoon. No matter what happened from that moment on, they'd take care of each other…and the marauders.

Snape looked over across the Great Hall to where James Potter and Lily Evans were laughing, their heads together with their friends. He sat alone at the end of the Slytherin table, his black, hollow eyes narrowing in menacing jealousy.

He hated her for being so happy. He hatred her for tricking him. He hated her because he knew that she was the sole most important thing to James Potter.

It was past midnight. The whole castle seemed to be holding its breath in anticipation of the morning.

One young Slytherin, however, was not resting. He sat on his bed, shielded form his sleeping roommates by the heavy green curtains that surrounded his bed. His wand was out, and Snape's eyes flashed suddenly, as he muttered the incantation of a sinister curse.

Lily Evans sat bolt upright in her bed. She wasn't awake; her eyes flittered open and closed mysteriously as she stood, and made her way to the door of the dormitory, and seemed to float with an other-worldly grace out of the Griffindore Tower and down through the castle.

The tiny emerald on the necklace James had given Lily for Christmas grew hot, and seared a bright, ruby red. James Potter awoke with a start, his eyes snapping open, instantly alert.

James jumped out of bed, and ripped the covers of Sirius.

"Padfoot! Padfoot wake up now!" he hissed in his ear.

"Gobactosweep." Sirius muttered. James hit him over the head. Sirius was awake now…

"What the ruddy hell did you do that for?" he asked, sitting up in bed quickly, and rubbing the spot where James had hit him.

"I had to wake you up! Lily's in trouble! I need you're help!"

"I'm up!" Sirius said bracingly, and he jumped from his bed. James threw his invisibility cloak around the both of them, and they moved down and out of the common room at an alarming pace, James' heart beat racing, as the Emerald grew hotter and hotter around Lily's neck.

Snape had led her outside, his wand hovering in the air, as he sat on his bed, sneering, his brow covered in beads of sweat from concentration.

Lily walked across the lawn, and right over to the lake. She stepped onto the water. When her foot came in contact with the surface, however, her foot did not sink through it gracefully, but seemed to glide over the top of its inky black surface.

There is a cave around the edge of the lake that almost no one knows about. Up against the startling cliff face on which the school is perched, a secret series of crevices hides, the home of many mysterious creatures, and hidden secrets.

Snape knew about them though. Lily glided over the surface of the water and right into one of these caves, where she fell to the ground in a heap, and lay there, immobile. Snape smiled. She wouldn't wake for days.

James Potter and Sirius Black had made it to the edge of the lake.

"James, where are we going?" Sirius hissed at him under the cloak.

"I have no idea. To Lily."

"How do you know where she is?"

"I gave her a necklace for Christmas, and I put a spell on it do that I can tell when she's in trouble. " James said, smiling grimly. Sirius stared, proud. Prongs was not normally a dab hand at charms, and this was quite a feat.

"Well done. " he said, "But Padfoot, how can she be out there?" he said, gesturing madly at the black surface of the lake, his hand shaking at the thought. James looked down heartened.

"I have no idea. But the locket has been calling to me, sort of telling me where to go. I can't explain it, but she's alive, and she's out there, so I'm going out there too."

"Then I guess I'll come." Sirius said, "If you're sure that that's where she is?"

James nodded, and stepped out from under the cloak.

Sirius tried not to make a sound as James transformed. He was going to ask how they were going to get across the lake, but it seemed as though James had already given it a bit of thought…not rational thought mind you…

"James! It's February! Don't you realise how cold it's going to be?" James didn't say anything, just stepped into the water, which chilled his bones, but he continued without flinching, and was soon paddling through the icy water, a great Black dog swimming reluctantly behind him.

Sirius shivered, shaking his shaggy black fur out of his eyes and trying to stop his abnormally large teeth from chattering as he and James reached the middle of the lake. James then took an abrupt turn, and began to swim towards the castle, which towered above them, demoralizing, as though taunting their foolishness.

James tried to ignore the many limbs and scales that brushed his leg gentle as he and Sirius swam through the lake. He thought of Lily. What on earth had brought her out here in the middle of the night? Was it Voldermort? Or merely a student playing a prank. She could have been taken…or maybe she had just wandered out there on her own accord. James let out a grunt, feeling the icy chill of the water against his lightly furred skin…definitely not off her own accord…

Something in his brain was steering him back towards the cliff faces that rimmed the castle. That couldn't be good. What if she was lying at the foot of them? Or what if she was back inside the castle itself? James began to doubt his skills in charms.

Lily was still breathing, lightly, her hammered breaths coming vaguely in tapered stops and starts. Her eyes were clamped tightly shut, and her limbs were limp, lying at odd angles around her peaceful body, as she slept a dreamless sleep.

Snape was lying back down, staring with his jealous eyes open in looming ferocity. _James Potter will wish that he had never messed with the Half-Blood Prince_ …

James swam faster, and Sirius was struggling to keep up with him, his frivolous dog paddle barely keeping up with James, whose long spindly legs propelled him through the water gracefully.

_Is that a cave up ahead? _Sirius thought, his eyes widening at the thought. He had never heard of a cave in the cliffs, but for the one that first years made their entrance into the school through each year. But this wasn't that sort of cave. And there were more of them, scattered all the way across the cliff faces. James had noticed them now, and was slightly vexed to realise that the charm was leading him to one of them; a cave that was situated almost near the centre of the cliffs, and was by far one of the smallest.

Sirius groaned. It was dark in there. No one knew where the giant squids slept…what if they were leading themselves into a horrible death trap. Or worse, what if this really was a death trap. What if someone had taken Lily to get at James? Sirius barked loudly, and James ignored him, and kept on swimming. Now that he was so close to Lily he couldn't bare it if she wasn't all right…or if he didn't get to her in time.

James barely hesitated when he reached the entrance of the cave, and Sirius was quick to follow, not wanting to loose sight of James in the dark. James' feet collided with the floor of the cave and he stood on his four legs, looking around the cave. He could see nothing.

James and Sirius transformed back into their human forms, panting heavily, and shivering uncontrollably. James lit his wand.

"Prongs, are you sure that this is such a-"

Sirius was cut short when the dim light issuing from James' wand fell upon a dark shape in the corner of the cave, lying still on the ground.

"Lily!" James cried out, and ran over to crouch beside her, Sirius close behind. The flaccid figure didn't stir. Lily's red hair was drenched in water and mud, and the side of her face was smeared with sand. James held onto her arm. Her body was stone cold.

"Lily! Lily wake up!" He tried desperately, feeling for a pulse and sighing in relief when he found one, the cold fist clenching his heart loosening its grip slightly.

"Lily?" he whispered. Sirius' face was stark white.

"Renerveate." James muttered, pointing his wand at her. Lily stirred a little, but didn't fully wake up. James lifted her into a sitting position, and stroked her hair. Lily's eyes opened a little.

"James?" she whispered, her head lolling around on her shoulders dangerously.

"It's ok, it's ok, we're here."

"Where are we?"

"Don't worry about that now. Shhh." James said, worried. Lily was shivering uncontrollably form the water that drenched her now, and her whole body was covered with goose bumps, her lips blue.

"How did I-"

"Don't worry Lil, we'll get you out of here, then we'll talk about it, ok?"

"But I-"

"Shhh."

Lily's head dropped onto James' shoulder, and he looked at Sirius hopelessly.

"How are we meant to get her back?" Sirius shrugged, looking down at James and Lily's hunched body.

"She's really cold." James said. "I don't think that we could get back with out making her worse."

"Why don't we sleep here tonight then?" Sirius suggested. He performed a warming spell on Lily, and then one on himself and James. Lily stopped shivering, but her face was a ghostly pale, and her eyes didn't open.

"Incendio" Sirius said forcibly, and flames shot out of his wand to produce a small fire on the floor of the cave. James held Lily, as she murmured uneasily, and Sirius conjured up three blankets and cushions.

James wrapped Lily up, and lay down beside her, placing her close to the fire.

Sirius caught the look on James' face as he stared at her, his terrified features flickering in the wavering firelight.

"She'll be ok you know." Sirius said, smiling encouragingly at his best friend.

"I know. Burt Padfoot, I have never been so terrified in my whole life. When I saw her there-"

"Nothing happened." Sirius said, with determined force. James gave his a small, sad smile, and reached out to grasp Lily's hand.

She squeezed it back, unconsciously, but that was all that James needed to fall into a light sleep.

**A/N: sorry all, that the last couple haven't been that light and funny! I'll try and make it a little more enjoyable for the next chappie…wont be so heavy. I liked writing about the necklace though. Thanks for all my reviews! I love getting reviews, they make y day guys, they really do. So, if you've read this far then you obviously didn't hate it, and you obviously have a bit of time on your hands, so REVIEW IT! PLEASE? Ur all so awesome 4 not bailing on me! Hope that you all had a great Chrissie!**

**Luv Ella xXx**


	23. The cup

**Hey guys! Well, thanks for all the reveiws and stuff...you might be able to tell, this story is begining to come to an end...well, not really, but lets just say that from here on in I know exactly what is going to happen. Some of you might have workewd it out too...i dunno. But anyway, thats only because, well, seventh year is almost over, and I have already write about 30 pages of what is to be the story of what happens to them all when they leave Hogwarts, and I will post that really soon! So, look out for The Official Documents Of The Order Of The Pheonix!I am excited. thanks also for the reveiws that I got for the oneshot, and soz about the LP/LE mistake! I'll fix itwhen I get a chance, I promise! Hope you all like this chappie, I promise you, its not going to all be this dark! I just need these chappies to make it all make sense! And about calling him Lupin, I know! I apologise for that, I read back over it, and I was like, El, your a dork, he wasn't your bloody professor! Luv 2 my reveiwers! Thanks...**

**Luv Ella xXx**

"James! James wake up!" came Lily's panicked voice, wafting into his dreams. James Potter awoke with a start, and Sirius sat up beside him.

"Now don't panic, but I don't know where we are, and I have no idea how the hell we got here!" she said, panting heavily.

"Lily! Calm down! Don't stress, be careful! Sit down!" James said, jumping to his feet and helping her sit down. Lily was confused.

"Why? Where are we?" she asked, shocked that they weren't stunned by their predicament. Sirius waved his wand, and conjured up a mug of butterbeer for Lily, who drank deeply, and warmed right up.

"Listen, we followed you here last night. You came here, for some reason. You were almost…" James' voice caught in his throat, and Lily looked at Sirius, wide eyed.

"What?" she said, almost chocking on her butterbeer. "I came here? But why would I do that?"

"I don't know." James said, white faced. "I really have no idea. I think that someone put a curse on you, but I have no idea who…"

"And you two found me? How? I didn't even know that there were caves here." She asked James.

"Well…ok, now don't get mad at me, ok? I put a charm on the necklace that I gave you. I tells me when you're in trouble." He said, smiling slightly as her face didn't fall at his lack of trust, but lit up at the extent to which James was looking out for her.

"James! That was really dangerous!" she said, throwing her arms around his neck. After a moment, Sirius cleared his throat. Lily hugged him too, and whispered thanks to both of them.

"How are we going to get back though?" she asked. "Your broom stick?"

"I don't think that it would be able to come here, even if I summon it…I wouldn't want to risk it."

"Well we can't very well swim back again."

"Conjure a boat?"

"Oh yes, because we can do that." Sirius said sarcastically.

"Wait a moment." Lily said, freezing, and walking over to the wall that was at the very back of the cave. I can feel something. There's magic here. Can't you feel it?"

The boys shook their heads.

"it must be strong, for me to be able to feel it. I normally cant do stuff like that…" she muttered. Lily stumbled over to the surface of the rock face, and put her hands gingerly on it, their pads still bloody and sore from being battered against rocks the night before…

The rock slid open, at the touch of her hands. Lily gasped. Sitting at the back of this cave was a small silver cup, but the cup seemed to radiate with magical power. I seemed to glow with the light of an extraordinary wizard, and yet Lily knew by looking at the cup that there was something sinister and foreboding about it. She was drawn to it's smooth, silver surface, and she ignored James as he started after her, scared.

"No Lily! Don't touch it! You don't know what-"

Lily's sight was obscured. She was watching something as though it were a movie, a movie seen through her eyes, and with pain felt with her heat. She was in agony. She was kneeling before a man- or was it a man? - his eyes were slits, and his face a place white, and flat like a horrible snake. She screamed out loud, as Voldemort advanced on her, and held his wand above his head. She looked down at what she was holding. It was a tiny baby, not more than a year old, with messy black hair, and bright emerald green eyes that were wide with fear, though the baby was not crying. His bottom lip was trembling at the sight of his mother is such distress, though no sound escaped his tiny lips as he watched he watched in absolute horror.

"Step aside silly girl." Said Voldermort, his voice high with menacing fury, a threat that wasn't any louder than normal conversation. But was cold and cruel, and chilled Lily to the bone.

She was begging him for mercy. She was pleading Voldermort, to save her son, to kill her instead. Lily screamed, as a searing pain shot through her chest with vehemence, and she looked up, and saw James peering over her.

"Lily!" James said, lifting her up so that she was sitting against his knee.

"Lily! What is it? What did you-"

James fell to the ground and began to writhe. Sirius watched, from the entrance of the cave, terrified, as his best friend shivered and screamed uncontrollably, and Lily lay, metres away, still on the ground.

James remained in this tormented state for moments, before he stoped as suddenly as he had started, and fell to the ground, next to Lily, tears streaming out through his closed eyes and sweat dripping off his tired face.

Sirius couldn't stand it any longer. He couldn't bear to watch his best friends lye there like that. What ever they had seen, it was his turn to see it too. Sirius stepped right into the room, and for a moment it seemed like he wasn't going to be affected by the curse, until he fell to the ground, as though some one had thrown him down there. Sirius blinked, and his eyes widened. He wasn't on the ground. His heart felt heavy, and his eyes were stinging. It took him a minute to realise that he was trying no to cry…

"You killed Lily and James Sirius! You killed them!" Screeched Peter, standing before him, in a street, being watched on by many strangers, who looked as though they were muggles. There was a large bang, and Wormtail was gone. There was a crater in the street, and people were screaming and running around, examining bodies on the ground in obvious distress. Sirius laughed madly, as he saw a tiny rat scamper off down a nearby drainpipe. His laugh was hollow, and cold, but he sounded like a manic. Sirius screamed, and felt as t6hough his heavy heart was being cruelly wrenched from his body, but as it was, he though threw the confusion of the dream, and right back to the people that they had mentioned…they had said that he had killed Lily and James…he hadn't done that…they were lying on the ground…he had to get to them…

Blurred scenes flashed before his eyes, a small boy, peering up at him, threw the wreck of a grand old house…the bodies of two people that he recognised…Dani running from him, screaming, tears running down her reddened face.

And just as suddenly as it had begun, the scenes stopped. Sirius blinked again, and found that he was on the floor of the cave again, Lily and James lying not far from him, twitching horribly every few moments. And there was something different. The cup lay on the ground at his feet, the podium that it had been on cracked right down the middle, and the wall behind the cracked podium mysteriously gone…

Breathing heavily, and trying to forget all about what he had just seen, Sirius pulled himself to his feet, and crawled over to kneel beside James, when his eyes fell darkly on the cup…

It was, as Lily had thought earlier, darkly mysterious, and Sirius turned it over to find the mark of Helga Hufflepuff, a tiny badger emblazing the side. Sirius' eyes narrowed when he touched the cup, which seemed to tingle with magic under his fingers, and he pulled out his wand and blew it up unceremoniously. That cup was obviously the reason that they found themselves on the ground, and had dark magic somewhere within. Only good could come from destroying it…

There was an instant scream, as though someone was dieing, but it was replace a moment later with nothing by a deathly, ringing silence that screamed horror in Sirius' ears He didn't want to think about what the curse had shown him. He shook James'

Shoulder.

"Prongs!" he called, trying to rouse his friend, "James wake up." James' eyes flickered open and closed, and he sat up abruptly. "No! Not Lily! No!"

"James, it's alright, it was just a dream…" he soothed, doubting his words.

"Sirius! Sirius he's here! Voldermort is-"

"It wasn't real James. It wasn't real…"

James stared up, scared and confused.

Sirius moved over to Lily. Her face was covered with tears.

"Lily." He whispered. "Lily wake up."

Lily sat bolt upright, holding onto her head.

"He was going to kill…going to kill…he tried to…he's going to…"

"Lily, shhh. It wasn't real, it's alright, we're ok." Sirius said, calming her down.

"Where is he?" she asked, panicked.

"He's right here, James is fine…"

"No! Harry! Where's Harry?' she screamed, looking around the cave. Sirius and James stared, open-mouthed.

"I don't know who you're talking about…"

"Neither do I, really! I had a baby, Harry! He was going to…he was going to…" Lily broke down sobbing, and James embraced her, striking her hair comfortingly.

"It's ok Lily. Voldermort's not here now…we're ok. It was just a dream." James decided it best not to tell her that in his vision there had also been a small boy called Harry…

"There's a passageway. The cup is…gone…" he said, pointing to where the wall had been. The passage was quite large, and sloped downwards a little.

"Shall we take it? Better than what's on the other side…" James said, looking between the two. Lily and Sirius nodded. Lily rose delicately from the floor, and her, James and Sirius walked through the passageway.

There wasn't must to look at through the long hike. James kept whispering to the others, trying to force conversation at first, however, when he realised that the others were in no mood for responding, he stoped, for which he was grateful. They all had much too much on their minds.

The dreams that they saw cant have been real…could they? They seemed to be much more than dreams, or even visions, but there was no chance that they could actually happen, in the future…

Words seemed to echo in Sirius' head as though all other thought had disappeared and they were bouncing tauntingly around his hollow scull.

_You killed Lily and James…_Wormtail's voice had been so loud, so harsh, so real. Sirius dared not look the other two in the eye. He couldn't live with himself…It had to have been a dream. It just had to have been…

Lily's heart was still racing with the feeling that had coursed through her when Voldemort had held his wand high, and pointed it at her chest. Was she dead? Was the dream even real? What was real? Did she really have a son in this strange, future world? He had looked remarkably like James…

James stared at the floor, after the conversation had failed to begin, and a lump was stuck in his throat so huge that he feared he would never be able to talk again. In his dream he had seen Voldermort…he was coming into a house, his wand bared, and demanded that he show James to a boy…Harry. He said that he would kill him if he didn't…but James merely pulled out his wand and tried to take on Voldermort himself…take on the greatest dark wizard of all time…

There was one thing in the vision that made James think that it could be real…he remembered screaming for Lily, to take Harry, and run…

The passageway stopped sloping, and they walked for a while on flat ground before the three came to a door. It was in the roof, and it was tiny, but there was no doubt that it was a door. Just large enough for each of them to squeeze through. Taking a deep breath, James pulled it open.

Everything was quite. The breathed a sigh of relief, unknown to each other. James, Lily and Sirius were so on the edge that they feared that the moment they opened the door cold hands would seize them, and take them back to even further form where they wanted to be, once again.

"Where are we?" Whispered Lily, looking around at the cold place, it's black stone floor and it's four poster beds with snakes carving out the posts were adorned with thick green curtains. Lily gulped when she realised where they were, and drew closer to James, holding onto his hand as a reflex. James squeezed it.

"We need to get out of here." Sirius whispered to them.

"Wow Padfoot, you don't say," said James sarcastically, and looked around the room. They were in the seventh year's dormitory. Creeping up the staircase to the common room, which seemed to be built the opposite way to the Griffindores, James stopped abruptly when they almost reached the opening to the common room.

"What-" James cut Lily off, but putting his hand over her mouth. Now she and Sirius could here what James had heard. There were two people not down at breakfast…

"I don't care! You can't go blowing the cover by playing silly pranks Severus!" scolded one voice, I little more than a whisper. James' hands balled into fists as he realised that it must have been Snape who had taken Lily down there…

"We are the only ones who can look after that for him, we're the only ones left at Hogwarts!"

"What if I don't want to be left at Hogwarts?" Snape sneered back at the person.

"Well then that's two bad for you, isn't it. The Dark Lord needs us here, and so until you get that book-"

"It's not here! I've looked a million times!"

"It has information Severus. If another person has it then it's not a good sign…"

"Listen, I don't know what that thing down there is, but it's unlikely that they even found it last night-"

"If they have though!" screamed the person, sending something hurling through the air, missing Snape by inches and smashing against the wall.

"This isn't just games! This is big time stuff Snape, and I don't want you messing it up for me!" There was the slamming of the door that told them that the person was gone. Snape followed soon after.

Lily breathed out slowly.

"James, I think he was talking about-"

"Don't talk about it here Lily. They just proved that anyone could be listening when we talk about stuff like this." James hissed back. They crept out of the Slytherin Common Room and breathed a sigh of relief as their feet hit the floor and they found themselves back in the castle halls.


	24. Where?

Well hello all I hope that u all had a good new years! Glad that u liked the whole horcrux thing…wasn't too sure about it. This chappie isn't one of my favourites, but it needed to be done…sigh the next ones fun, writing it as I speak, so should be up soon. Please Review! 

**Disclaimer: none of this is mine.**

The next morning, they seven friends went down to breakfast, Lily James and Sirius immensely tired, and the others merely shocked by the story that they had fed them when they awoke to find their friends safe in their beds. They had only left out one detail; what they had each seen when they had stepped into that room. However, the three of them had hardly shared those facts with each other, James and Lily too scared to touch on them again, and Sirius too ashamed. He did, however, treat any conversation with Wormtail with added caution, and the small boy got scared when he caught Sirius staring at him pensively every so often, but, apart from that, they had been trying their hardest to forget about the visions all together.

James and Lily walked into the great hall hand in hand, and tried to hide their puffy eyes as they looked over to the Slytherin table. Snape's jaw dropped open in uncharacteristic surprise, and he dropped his greasy, superior air for a moment as he gawked at the fact that Lily Evans was alive, well, and most importantly, standing upright in the great hall hand in hand with James Potter.

James' grip tightened on Lily's hand, and she tried to silently urge him to calm down, though he didn't really get the message. Reaching his hand into his pocket, James focused hard on an incantation in his head, and pointed the wand in Snape's direction, hidden in the folds of his robes.

Snape stoped, and chocked for a moment on his pumpkin juice. For a moment James thought of leaving it at that, but realised a second later that that would hardly be a punishment.

To Severus Snape, pain didn't really matter. He had been hurt before, and he could always go to the hospital wing…he had nothing that he cared about for James to hurt…except for his pride.

Snape stopped chocking, and leapt up into the table. McGonagal gasped, and Dumbledore looked politely confused. The teachers and students all fell silent as Snape began to sing and dance, skipping up and down the table, sending plate and goblets flying unceremoniously to the ground.

He sang a wordless song, with high pitches that he seemed to try and reach but missed, and he attempted a pirouette or two, before falling flat in front of a sixth year girl, when he seemed to come to his senses, and creep off the table, muttering curses under his breath, and taking great care not to take his eyes off the ground.

The whole hall erupted in laughter, and James and Lily looked down at their food and ate quietly, sniggering inconspicuously. Sirius roared with laughter.

"You shouldn't have done that James." Lily hissed at him.

"After what he did? I could have killed him, be glad that I only made the bloke dance!" James whispered back angrily.

James, Lily, Remus and Ella sat in History of Magic, James' head lolling dangerously on the edge of his desk, his eyes drooping lower and lower, Lily giving him a sharp kick under the table when it became too noticeable. When this would happen he would give Professor Binns a thoughtful nod, and proceed to copy Remus' notes in a scrawl of shorthand before resting his head on the table once more. Lily yawned. _This could probably be a good subject, if it weren't taught by such a boring teacher…_Lily thought, yawning discreetly so that she wasn't made fun of by James.

"Legends…" The professor said, a slight groan in his voice, "I dislike this brand of teaching, although Dumbledore thinks that it is wise for you to study the unknown. Only for a small period of time, of course…but as you are an exceptional class then he feels it necessary to at least touch on the subject. James' head rose off the desk, and he looked at Binns, bleary-eyed. Lily's heart was racing. Her hand rose slowing into the air.

James shook his head, and pulled it down.

"No Lily! We agreed that we wouldn't do anything about that until we left here! We are asking any questions…"

"I know we did! But this is much too good an opportunity to give up! And besides, even if we do find out something, it's not as though we'd go flying off to find the bloodstone tonight-"

"Not as if we'd be flying off to find it at all!" hissed James, with a sad glance over at Remus, who was oblivious to the nature of their conversation.

"James! I need to know, and I promise, we wont do anything else until we've left Hogwarts. But this may be our only chance-"

"Miss Ethans." Said professor Binns, gliding over to where James and Lily sat and peering down at them with his wrinkled, translucent face, looking stern. There was no choice for it now. James gave her a grin smile of assent, and turned his face away from Remus, who was looking mildly curious.

"Sorry sir, we were only wondering if you could please tell us of the legend of the bloodstone?" Lily said, attentively. Binns looked highly affronted. His knowledge on these matters was actually considerably large, however, he rarely liked to display it, and the facts of the legend that Lily Evans spoke of was one whose facts were all too specific for Binns liking. He took a deep breath, however, and began to speak.

"Some of you might have heard of this. I don't know, maybe it's before your time, but…well, not far from here there used to be two villages."

Lily let out a small yelp of shock. He had begun the story with the words 'not too far from here' James put his head in his hands and groaned. He did not want Lily to go getting herself into trouble. Remus and Ella looked at each other in surprise. But it was nothing to how the two of them felt as Binns continued with the story…

"Yes yes, two villages, and then one day, thousands of years ago, legend has it that they fought over a stone-"he said, none dramatically, as though he were an irritable parent who wished his child had chosen a shorter story before bed time.

"What sort of stone?" asked Ella, interested. The Professor rolled his eyes.

"The magic of rocks and the sort is hazy, and I do not buy the mumbo jumble that divination teachers and others of the like ramble on about these days…"

"But if they fought over it sir, then it had to have been powerful." She pushed. The professor let out a great breath of frustration, and continued slowly.

"Yes yes, I suppose that that is what they believed, if we event chose to believe that this story is real. It is merely a fairytale, told to-"

"Yes professor, but what did-"

"It was said to purify the blood, and protect the wearer to some extent, and to cure those infected with the bite of a werewolf." Remus froze, and Ella grasped his hand under the table tightly as Lily continued to press for details.

Remus looked at James, but he wouldn't turn around. He didn't want to see the look on Remus' face. It was obvious that Lily had heard of the story before…

"But the towns sir? You said that they were near here-"

"I guess that they were. There are many towns out in the mountains. At any rate." He cleared his throat and stared around at the rest of the class, who had all eyes fixated on their teacher. Binns looked startled. This had never happened before. But he also didn't think it wise to tell them too much and send them searching for a legend in the mountains near the school…

"But then the legend goes that when they tried to finally touch the stone, instead of it being powered by their will power and good intentions, it's effects were turned backwards, and the stone and the warriors fighting for it vanished, as though the stone had swallowed them up."

Remus breathed out slowly, and gave a James knew that if he were to turn around at that moment then he would see a very stern look on his friends face.

"So, all the good things that the stone was meant to do were reversed? It did the opposite?" Lily said, looking Binns in his transparent, shimmery eyes. Binns rolled them.

"Yes, yes, I suppose that it did. I told you all that I didn't like this sort of history." He said, groaning.

"Ok, now why the hell did you two know so much about that rock?"

"Stone."

"Whatever!" Remus groaned, standing before Lily and James as they sat on the lounge in the common room, looking up at him sheepishly.

"Because we…well we found…we wanted to…"

"It won't work! It's a legend! Ok? A story! You heard Binns, it's not true!"

"Maybe Remus! But it might not be!" said Lily, pleading him with her eyes.

"No Lily!"

"But I-"

"No!" he yelled, and ran up to their dormitory, slamming the door behind him.

Ella smiled at them sympathetically, and followed Remus up the stairs. Sirius and Dani stood in the doorway, having just come through the portrait hole.

"What was that about?" Dani asked, sitting down gingerly next to Lily. Sirius flopped down opposite them, and stared up at James.

"Is Moony ok?"

"Yeah. He's all right, it's just that…don't worry; it's a really long story. James, can we go for a walk?" asked Lily, on the verge of tears.

"Sure, come on," he said, standing up, grasping her hand bracingly.

"James! I know where it is!" she cried, sobbing into his shoulder. James looked confused, before hugging her closely.

"How? How do you know?"

"Somewhere near here? And if all the effects were reversed…" she pulled away, wiping her eyes, and looked at James waiting for him to come to the same conclusion that she had. He didn't.

"Please keep going Lil, I feel like an idiot."

Lily giggled. "Well, the bloodstone changes people back from being a werewolf, doesn't it?" she said slowly. James nodded, eyebrows raised.

"Well, wouldn't that mean that when it did the opposite to people it changed them into werewolves?" she said, staring at James with a triumphant look upon her face. James' eyes widened, as his eyebrows were lost in his hair.  
"You mean Chestervalle?"

"It would make sense, wouldn't it?" she hissed at him, and he triumphant expression was changed to that of sadness. "But we can't do anything until after school, I know."

James' triumphant smile also slid from his face, and he took Lily's hand again.

"Thank you." He whispered in her ear, and they went back up to the common room.

Argh. I am getting so frustrated. Hope u liked this chapter, thanks 4 all ur gr8 reviews! I get so excited when I get reviews! O yay-luv Ella xXx


	25. Is this how Muggles Camp?

**Sorry for the wait!**

Professor Kettleby turned and faced the class, smiling broadly, and making them all a little scared. They knew that he enjoyed teaching them, but the grin that he had donned looked a little maniacal, and the way that he was shaking in anticipation made them curious.

"Tomorrow night, we will be taking a little excursion, just this class, myself and Hagrid." He explained, still smiling. James, Lily and Sirius exchanged excited looks, and he continued.

"Professor Dumbledore, Hagrid and myself have been planning this for many years now, and we hope that you will enjoy it. At first we were going to include an assignment, however…" the faces of the class, already strained by NEWTs, lit up again.

"However, we thought that with your exams coming up you could all use a night off, and so I would like you all to meet me here tomorrow night, at sunset, where I will take you to our camping place in the forest. That is all! I will see you all then!" he finished, his face alight with a boyish excitement.

James, Lily and Sirius made their way down to the edge of the forest, high spirits racing with anticipation. Their good moods weren't even savaged by the look of pure loathing that was shot at them from Severus Snape. The corners of James' mouth tightened slightly, but Lily squeezed his hand, and they carried on as though the whole encounter had never happened.

"You're all here!" Professor Kettleby boomed, beaming around at them all jovially, when everyone had reached the edge of the forest. Snape was standing the furthest possible way away from Lily and James, and every so often Sirius would notice him peering their way menacingly, clearly not wanting to be seen.

"When we go into the forest I want all of you to stay calm, and stick together, no matter what any of you hears or sees. Nothing will harm us on the path that Dumbledore has cleared for us, nor where we are sleeping, but the sounds and shadows that the forest holds may be enough to scare more than one of our number if we don't stick together. Now follow me."

Kettleby walked up to a part in the edge of the forest and pulled back the branches of two, overgrown trees. Sirius and James gasped, amazed and delighted. This was a part of the forest that they had never before seen or explored, and that though made them very excited indeed.

Lily rolled her eyes, as they exchanged over enthusiastic looks, and James took an old piece of parchment out of his pocket and tapped it with his wand, winking at Sirius. Lily rolled her eyes, and decided not to ask.

They walked for what seemed like an hour, til their destination was distinguished by two excited squeals emitted by two pretty Ravenclaw girls, as they found the campsite and ran to throw their things in a tent.

Lily, James and Sirius walked into the clearing, impressed. Kettleby stood proudly at the entrance, greeting each of the students happily as they stepped into the grotto.

Five or so tents were set up around the edge of the clearing, as well as one slightly larger, which they supposed was Kettleby's, for it sat right in the middle of the rest of them. A blazing campfire sat roaring in the centre of the semi circle, surrounded by roughly placed logs. Hagrid sat on one of these, smiling at the students as they passed, excited, and greeting James Lily and Sirius with a merry wave of the hand. They ran over to him, and Hagrid turned from where he sat on the log.

"Not a bad set up Hagrid!" James said, giving Hagrid a pat on the back. Hagrid beamed humbly. "You do all of this?"

"Kettleby and me 'ave had it planned for years now." Hagrid told them, pleased with the idea. "Came and set it all up the smornin'!"

"Which tent should we take then?" Sirius asked, winking. Hagrid raised his eyebrows at him, and pointed to the one behind him.

"Looks like you don't have a chose! While you lot 'ave been 'ere talkin' to me the rest of 'em have been smart and chosen!" Hagrid laughed, and James and Lily dove for the last tent, which Snape was eyeing greedily. Sulking, he went off and joined up with another group of Slytherins, who begrudgingly let him inside.

James grumbled as they neared the tent. It was clearly the smallest in the space, and the rattiest. Lily didn't really mind. She went camping in the holidays with her parents…

"Wow." Said Sirius simply, when they opened the flap of the door a tad, to reveal what was inside. Lily gasped. Maybe this _wasn't_ going to be like camping in the summer with her parents…

Three large beds sat side by side, a small bathroom off in the corner of the room, and red curtains and linen separating everything and giving it a very welcoming look. Red carpet adorned the floor, and there was even a small fireplace, which was giving off heat, but not seeming to burn anything, over in the corner.

"I got the middle bed!" Sirius roared, throwing himself down onto the bed just as Lily took the one closest to the fire. James laughed.

"Sure mate, Haha." James said. Sirius blinked.

"No, I really want this bed." He said.

"But I want to be next to Lily!"

"You always get to be in the middle though! I want to be in the middle!" Sirius argued. Lily smirked at their childish game, of changing each other's sheets and throwing pillows back and forwards.

"Well, when you to decide to grow up then I will meet you outside." She said, standing up and leaving for the campfire. Sirius and James looked at each other.

"Scissors paper rock?" Sirius said, and James stuck out his hand. They played.

"What the hell is that Padfoot?" James asked, when they drew and Sirius had stuck his hand under James', twiddling his fingers avidly, and grinning like maniac.

"It's fire! Beats everything!" he commended. James got an evil glint in his eye, and threw his hand above Sirius'.

"Yeah! But does it beat water bomb?" James yelled. Sirius shrugged, and threw his things back down onto the middle bed. James went to automatically pick them up and throw them, but found that he couldn't get his hand past the edge of the bed.

"Oi!"

"We're wizards James, I don't know why we were bothering." He said, aloof, and strutted from the tent.

That night the forest clearing seemed the ring with happiness and laughter, the blazing fire the source of many jokes and camping songs, while Hagrid played his roughing carved wooden flute, and they toasted marshmallows. Lily remembered the way that she had felt at Christmas, and smiled, thinking back.

She had thought that that would be her last chance to have fun…when she had gone back to school that everything would change…the fiasco with Snape only seemed to highlight her point, however, as she sat around the fire with James and Sirius and Hagrid, she realised that the whole world didn't have to be happy for her to have a moment of fun…she could still find tiny pieces of paradise, even when the times looked grim…

"I'm going to bed James." She announced, when all but the three f them and a few Ravenclaws were sitting by the fire, drinking butterbeer. James smiled and took her hand.

"I'll come in too." He said, and they went back into the tent, leaving Sirius to laugh with the Ravenclaw girls.

"James! Help me!" said Sirius, slipping back into their tent at one in the morning. James and Lily looked up form their position on the floor of the tent, where they were bundled up in blankets and pillows, giving them the impression that two fat caterpillars were lying in the tent.

Sirius caught sight of them and burst out laughing. "What are you two doing? I mean, I stay out of the tent so that you two can have some, 'alone time' and I find you wrapped up, not in each other, but looking like that." Sirius laughed.

"Your problem Sirius?" James asked dully, Sirius, having the attention span of a goldfish, had already misplaced the reason for which he had entered the tent in the first place.

"Oh! Right." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Well, I was out there then right, and you know those two Ravenclaw girls? What are there names again?"

"Sirius! We have had classes with them since we were eleven and you still don't know their names!" Lily said incensed, raising her eyebrows at him. Sirius looked as though he were to scorn her, but only for a moment, because he couldn't take either of them seriously when they were looking like that…

"Anyway, the names don't matter! The problem is that they are both incredibly hot, and they were all over me! It was like a flirting buffet out there!" he exclaimed, and looked off into the distance for a moment, perhaps imagining what a flirting buffet would really be like, be continuing. Lily didn't like the sound of thins…Sirius was going out with her best friend and-

"And I turned them down! I told them off!" he finished, as though it were the most ludicrous thing in the world. "I turned down the hot Ravenclaws! I don't know what's happened to me! Do you think maybe Dani's put some spell on me? All of a sudden I don't want any other girls!"

Lily laughed. "I think Sirius is in love." she said smiling. James laughed, and Sirius looked taken aback.

"Love? Really? You think so?" he said, intrigued. "So she didn't curse me?"

"Some might say that it's a curse Padfoot." James said knowingly. Lily burst her arm free of its material prison and slapped him over the head.

"But _I_ am not one of those people!" James corrected himself, and smiled sheepishly at Lily.

"Wow. Well, now that that's sorted, why are the two of you on the floor?" Sirius asked, looking from them to the perfectly comfortable bed s that sat behind them.

"Lily told me that this is how muggles camp, I thought that it might be fun." James said.

"And is it?" Sirius asked. They nodded. Sirius threw himself down onto the floor next to them.

"I thought that you wanted the big bed!" James said, outraged. Sirius shrugged.

"Meh, I just did that to annoy the hell out of you Prongs." He said, and before they knew it he had stolen half of James blankets and was wrapped up in a simular fashion to the other two campers.

"Do you think that it ruins the experience a little seeing as we have carpet?" Lily asked, laughing at their idea of 'ruffing it'. James looked shocked.

"Do you meant that when muggles go camping they don't have carpet?" he said, eyes widening. Lily laughed, and nodded. Sirius laid his head on James' stomach.

"Sirius, get off." James said, awkwardness etched into every syllable. Sirius snuggled lower into James.

"No Prongsie, I'm comfortable!" he whined. James rolled his eyes.

"Hmmm. Remember back when you two wouldn't even look at each other?" Sirius said, smiling, staring up at the canvas roof. James snorted.

"I would look at her! Only problem was that she wouldn't let me!"

"Sorry about that." Lily said, laughing. "But you were an arrogant prat."

"Hey! Was not!"

"You kind of were Prongs…" Sirius added, smiling. Lily sat up, giggling.

"Oh Sirius, you were just as bad, only you didn't ask me out every chance that you got."

"Mind you, I didn't get much of a chance…"

"Why? Because you were too busy hexing Snape?"

"No! Because you were too busy hitting me!"

"But you fell in love in the end." Sirius added sweetly, looking at the roof. Lily grinned, knowing that he was far from thinking about her and James.

"I know Sirius. Remember when you too were too stubborn to go to the ball together?"

"You can talk!"

The three friends carried on this way right until the early morning, when they drifted into a peaceful sleep, full of reminiscent dreams.

A/N: sorry it took me so long guys! Don't blame my oneshot, I wrote that a while ago, but this took so many rewrites that it's not funny! I was never happy with it! I needed it, because they're almost left school now, and there's a lot about to happen, so I thought that I should show that James and Sirius will still be stupid, and Lily will still be happy, and all that. Yeah, I need something light after all that other stuff, so I hope that you guys liked it and if you did PRESS THAT LITTLE BLUE BUTTON AND REVIEW THE STORY! Thanks! Also, thanks to Mezo and Moony for reviewing and emailing me so regularly! Ur comments really help! And thanks also to all of you who have even read this much, it means the world to me! The next chappie should be up soon, and A LOT of questions will be answered in it. Ok, one big one, but neways, I'm excited to write it, so…

**Luv u all, Ella Evans xXx**


	26. one and the same

**A/N: I got it up a tad quicker this time! Nuh, I've had this chapter written for ages, and now I finally get to post it! Yay! I wrote this around the same time that I wrote the ball sequence! Haha. Hope that you all like it!**

**Disclaimer: None of this is mine.**

The seventh years had little time for such leisurely activities after that. The NEWTS were getting closer and closer, as the teachers were quick to remind them, as were Lily and Remus, who were exceedingly edgy, and snapped quickly if someone disturbed the peace that feel on the common room as was the tradition as they neared the end of the year.

Divination orbs, arithmancy charts, and massive books poured over by those studying history were a common sight in the Griffindore common room these days, and the library was constantly haunted by those who were studying for their NEWTs and their OWLs.

"Lily…"said James, in a singsong voice, late one night, as the two of them sat studying in the common room…or rather Lily sat studying and James accompanied her, sitting in the next seat and playing idly with her quill.

Lily ignored him. He had repeated many idiotic musings to her, when he got bored and her attention had not yet waved from the work that she was studying.

"Liiiily…" he repeated, singing it a little higher, and much more whiny this time. She slammed down her book onto the desktop.

"Ok, but this had better be good." She said, knowing that it wouldn't be. James looked guilty for a moment.

"You have puuuurty eyes Liiiiily." He said, still with the same sense of being a daze.

Lily rolled her 'purty eyes," and picked her book back up, refocusing her attention and placing it between her face and James', exasperated.

"James, you can go to bed you know, you don't have to stay here and, well, watch me study. It's kind of annoying."

"I know, but if I go upstairs then I have to watch Remus study, and his eyes aren't as pretty as yours!" James said, perkier this time, and Lily rolled them, once again.

History of Magic had gone back, the next lesson, to the same drab subject that it had been before their memorable lesson, and Lily went back to taking note while the others fell into a sleepy stupor, for which she was not grateful. It meant that James accompanied her even more when she studied, and, as much as she loved him, he was not the greatest person to work with.

James had the composure that he could know any information at a glance, an opinion shared by Sirius, who was scarcely seen studying, and as much as he lacked in common sense, Lily had to admit to herself that they did seem to pass their exams easier than the rest of the grade.

Sirius, meanwhile, was on the edge, not knowing whether to share the revelation that he had experienced by the fire with Dani, though seeing the girl in a whole new light. The thing was that he had sort of said that he loved her before…not that he had known what it meant when he was hanging off a broom at forty feet, and screaming it out in front of the whole school. Now he knew what love was, and it brought up a whole new list of possibilities. They were leaving Hogwarts in less than two months. Would this mean that he and Dani would move in together? Get engaged? He had no idea, but the first step was telling her, and the prospect scared the hell out of him.

"Lets go down to the beech tree!" James announced one Sunday morning, and Remus and Lily gave him dark looks, thinking of the calendar pinned up in the common room, counting down the days until the burdens of exams fell on them.

"No no no!" Sirius said, seeing their expression, and looking to Dani and Ella for support, "No, we can! You two can study down there, we've done it before, it's actually quite nice And it's getting pretty hot nowadays, so I think that it would be good for you two to get out of the castle, and more importantly, get out of the bloody library!"

Ella and Dani nodded slowly in agreement, and Sirius and James gave Remus and Lily puppy dog eyes, which, by the way, Sirius was quite accomplished at…

"Ok! Ok!" Lily exclaimed, after exchanging looks with Remus and relenting to the four anxious faces in front of them.

Gathering up their books, swimmers and towel, the friends all headed down to the beech tree by the lake, where they had spent many an afternoon lying under its tresses.

Lily and Remus immediately opened up their books, and began to pour over them intently. James and Ella exchanged looks, and shook their heads, before following Sirius and Dani into the water.

"Does Ella follow you when you want to study?" Lily asked Remus, when they were gone. He shook his head, and laughed.

"No, but I'm glad that James has you to do that to now. OWLs were horrible with him watching over my shoulder every two seconds, insisting that he knew it all." Remus laughed, and went back to studying…

What was that?" Lily asked, looking up suddenly at Remus. She looked back down at her parchment. There was a great drip mark smudging the writing. Remus looked at it too, and then at the sky.

"It can't be raining, can it?" he said, uncertain, looking around the periwinkle blue sky for signs of clouds. There was nothing but blue sky stretching off into the distance. Lily was confused.

Realising that they had blown their cover, Ella and James dove from the tree, and landed on top of Lily and Remus, dragging them to the water, Ella by grabbing Remus' hand before he had a chance to object, throwing him into the icy water and jumping in after him, and James by throwing Lily over his shoulder and running and jumping into it's refreshing depths.

"Ahhhh! James I am going to kill you!" Lily cried, feeling the water hit her skin and soak her robes through. Remus was yelling similarly at Ella, but neither of them seemed to care. Out further Dani was perched on Sirius shoulders, balancing until he would throw her off.

"You needed a break from all that…" Ella whispered, before kissing Remus. He smiled, an all reprimanding was forgot, as were the water soaked study notes, sitting under the beech tree, as Remus, Ella, Lily and James swam until sunset.

That night, however, there was no escaping the mountain loads of work that they seventh years had to do, and so Lily was naturally the last left in the library that night, when Madame Pince, the ill-tempered librarian turned off all the lamps and told her to get out, in respectable order, so that Lily found herself shrouded in darkness before being roughly shooed from the library.

Lily walked the familiar path back to Griffindore tower, her books slung over her back, lugging her tired feet along the hard stone floor. She opened the door to the common roo m, and her ears were filled with the sound of her friends laughing…

"Oh do Lily! Do Lily!" called Sirius, excited as Lily came through the portrait hole. Lily was taken aback by the sudden shouting of her name, and sat down apprehensively. All her friends were crowded around Ella who was holing out a little velvety bag.

"What are you all doing now?" Lily asked, exasperated. Ella held the bag out to Lily.

"We got given them in divination yesterday." Dani explained. "Draw out a stone and it says something about your future! Go on! It's only fun. Sirius drew out this one!"

Sirius looked sulky, as the rest of the group roared with laughter. "It's the stone of madness. They think I'm going to go crazy."

"No Sirius, we think that it's proof that you already are crazy!" Dani laughed.

"And I got the paternal stone." James said, winking at Lily. "Means I'm going to make a good father. Go on Lily, cant hurt."

Lily plunged her hand into the tiny little bag, and felt a very smooth, round stone, which she pulled out of the bag. Unclenching her fist, she gasped.

"The bloodstone." She breathed, and James gave a sharp intake of breath. Remus rolled his eyes, and Ella read from the tiny chart that she had in her hands…

"It means that you'll take part in a war, be like something of a hero Lily." Lily wasn't listening to her, and nor was James. Ella continued, " It's the martyrs stone…the heliotrope…"

Sirius, Lily and James all jerked their heads abruptly, and James leapt to his feet.

"WHAT?" he yelled.

Everyone stared at the three, who were now all on their feet, wide-awake, staring at the stone as though they had sent a ghost… Ella's eyes widened in shock as the three of them turned to her.

"The heliotrope...that's the other name for the bloodstone, used mostly for transfiguration…" she tried to explain, but James had turned to lily, begging her silently with his eyes.

"We have to James! We always said that if we found the heliotrope…"

"We don't know if that's where it is…"

"Yes we do! How many times have we been through this! It's there James, it all fits perfectly. We've been there before, we can do it! We can find it!"

"No!" it was Remus who spoke now, standing from his chair. He didn't know what they were talking about, but he figured that it had something to do with the tiny red and green stone resting in Lily's palm, and he knew why they wanted it. He wasn't about to let his friends leave the school at such a crucial part of their education to find that rock…

"No Remus, you don't understand! He wants it too!" Lily said, in an urgent whisper. Remus looked confused, and opened his mouth to speak again, before Sirius silenced him with a look. Remus was taken aback. He didn't know that Sirius had been so deeply involved with the bloodstone…

"It's the same thing…" Lily muttered under her breathe, still amazed at what had been staring them in the face all along, all year like a riddle that had been mocking them, jeering when ever they got close to a new answer before turning away…she couldn't turn away this time.

"It's not just about Moony this time James. I wanted it then, but now it's a race against the clock…There isn't time to wait until we're safe, or finished school. We need to go now, and get to that stone before He does." She said in a whisper, holding James hands tightly and staring deep into his eyes. He had seen this look in her eyes before. The iron clad, determined expression that they wore when she wouldn't take no for an answer.

"We'll go to Dumbledore." He said simply. "We should have gone to Dumbledore right back at the beginning. I don't really care if I get in trouble for being at that meeting anymore. This is much more important than a head boy badge." He said. Remus, Ella and Dani looked on in amazement, as they conversed in low whispers.

"But promise me, that when we get to his office, you wont say that you were there too? I was at the meeting, all alone, all right? Neither of you were there, it was just me." Lily nodded glumly, tears in her eyes, and they stood there for a moment, in silence, before…

"So, are we going to see Dumbledore then?" Sirius asked. Lily and James jumped slightly, taken aback at Sirius' keenness. They hadn't even expected him to come alone, but here he was, grabbing their cloaks off the back of the chair, and already halfway through the portrait hole.

With a quick wave to the other, Lily and James ran after him, James' invisibility cloak stuffed strategically in his pocket, his hand clasped tightly over Lily's in which she held the tiny heliotrope.

"Sirius!" They said, when they were almost at Dumbledore's office and he showed signs of wanting to forward right in.

A man came up behind them, unheard, and spoke in a very low tone, in a sort of accent, that none of them had ever heard of before. The man's face was cast in shadows, and he certainly wasn't a teacher at the school, and much less a student. They stared at him.

"Dumbledore isn't here." He said, in his low husky tones. They just stared at him.

"Who are you." Said James loudly, sounding much braver and bolder than he felt.

"Cardoc Dearborn. I am a…a friend of Dumbledore's. I am just here to watch the school tonight. D not go spreading this around mind you, but he has told us of you three, so I don't mind saying it here. You're the Potter boy, and Miss Lily Evans, and you're Sirius Black, no doubt about it. Yes, yes I have heard great things about the three of you I have." He said, smiling a shadow of a smile as he saw the bewildered looks on the student's faces.

"He's out of the school tonight." Cardoc explained, "I'll tell him that you called in, though I don't know when he'll be back I'm afraid." He said, sighing. The moon shifted in position outside, and cast a long glisten of light on Cardoc's face, so that the lost expression covering it told them that he was no closer to knowing the whereabouts of Albus Dumbledore than they were.

"But for now, I suggest that you get back to your common room. You don't want to be caught out of bed at this hour. I'll be seeing you all soon I expect. Stay safe."

Cardoc said, and the three exchanged scared looks with each other, and then, bidding goodbyes to Cardoc Dearborn, headed back up to the common room, running swiftly through the corridors without further interference.

They reached the common room again, and took a deep breath, anticipating the state that they would find their friends in when they re-entered the room. They were, however, in comparison to what they were expecting, surprisingly calm. Dani was pacing the common room dangerously, taping on things as she went, and twiddling her wand between her fingers. Ella was ling on the floor, looking calmly up at the roof, and Remus was sitting on the lounge, his head in his hands. James made to go over and talk to him, and Dani, upon their arrival, ran over and threw herself on Sirius, letting out her worry at not knowing what was going on.

Lily, however, did none of this. She actually didn't acknowledge that she had entered the common room at all. She walked straight threw the room, past her friends, and started u the stairs to the dormitory_. The boys' dormitory._

"Shit." Muttered James, changing direction from his beeline to Remus and running after Lily. Sirius gave Dani a swift kiss on the cheek.

"I love you." He whispered in her ear, before sprinting up the stairs after James and Lily, up the staircase to her dormitory.

The rest of the common room looked confused, but the quiet studiers dropped their heads back down to their books a moment later.

Dani stood there, staring off into the distance, jaw dropped in amazement, her fingers touching the spot on her cheek where Sirius' lips had touched her…

The three friends looked at each other hopelessly. They could try and follow the others, who had run up to the dormitory by now. But they knew that even if they did that they wuld have no way of stopping them.

So did James.

"No Lily! You cant! Give me back the broom!" James cried, standing over the other side of the room, while Lily placed herself near the window, his broomstick clutched firmly in her trembling hand. "You cant Lily!" he said, his voice cracking. Sirius ran into the room, and caught sight of Lily.

"Oh shit. Well, I guess we always knew that we had to, didn't we?" he said, taking his broomstick from its position next to his bed heads and mounting it.  
"So where are we going anyway?"

"Nowhere!"

"Chestervalle. Where the heliotrope is."

"No we're not!"

"Chestervalle? Isn't that that place with all the werewolves?"

"That's the one."

"No it isn't!" Sirius and Lily both looked at James. He looked momentarily embarrassed. "Er, sorry, I was getting used to disagreeing with you…" he said, but then turned back to Lily.

"You can't go. I don't want you to get hurt." He said finally, in a defeated voice. She gave him a small smile.

"Jump on."

Quite vexed at being invited to jump onto his own broom, James rolled his eyes, before obliging. Steering the broom from behind her, James managed to manoeuvre it superbly over the school grounds, so that they were ducking in and out of clouds most gracefully, and Lily doubted that anyone had seen them at all.

Sirius, riding behind them, was shocked when James suddenly began to descent, just outside of Hogsmeade.

"We can't be there yet!" He cried, looking down at their black surroundings in shock.

"No! But we can apperate form here!" Lily's voice came from up ahead.

They landed by the side of the road that led to Hogsmeade, and looed at each other firmly, their mouths set into thin white lines, their eyes blazing with fear and determination. Sirius grabbed a hold of James forearm so that he knew where to go.

And with a loud CRACK they were gone. And the sudden smell of decay and eerie silence told them that they had reached Chestervalle.

A/N: I hope that you liked it! Yes, they are the same thing! Good old google, I owe them so much, lol. Thanks to all who have read this far, the next chapter should be posted sometime on Sunday. MY Sunday, so I duno when that is 4 all u non-aussies. Um, not tomorrow, the next day! Yer, that's the one. Anyway, thanks to all the people who have reviewed this fic so loyally! Luv u!

**-Ella Evans xXx**

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	27. the legend of the bloodstone

A/N: Hope that you like it! 

**Disclaimer: This isn't mine.**

Sirius, Lily and James opened their eyes, and found Dark Marks and eerie lights and derelict shops peering in at them from all sides. The tiny tow was much more run down than it had been when Lily James and Remus had been there, as though a band of people had charged through the town and hexed everything in sight. One nearby house had been blown up completely, its burnt out shell acting like a beacon for changing times, and putting Lily even more on the edge than she was already, grabbing James hand tightly.

"Where to now?" she asked timidly, feeling a lot less confident now that they had left the warmth and comfort of Hogwarts, though no less determined.

Lily could feel something deep inside her. It was life an ancient voice calling out to her. She didn't know weather she was imagining it or not, all she knew was that she had to ignore the alarmed screams of her friends and put one foot over the other, heading for the caves that dusted the outskirts of the town, back behind them.

"Lily! Lily where are you going?" James asked.

"There's something there…" she said, in reverent tones. James looked to Sirius for support, but his features were oddly blank. This wasn't unusual. James remembered feeling simular upon his first visit to the crude town.

"Lily, Lily we have to find the stone."

"We are. I can here it. It's calling to me. They are." She said calmly. "They think that when one of us touches it then the effects will be reversed again…" she said, speaking the words in a detached kind of way, not knowing where the sudden bursts of knowledge came from, only knowing that she was right, and that there was nothing more important than getting to the stone.

"Lily, how do you?"  
"I don't know James I just have to trust it." She said quietly, and James followed her obligingly, grabbing Sirius forearm and leading him along, scared, looking around them nervously.

Lily kept on walking. One foot over the next, not stopping to look at Sirius and James, the sound of their feet thumping the cold stone ground enough reassurance for her determined mind to know that they were still there.

"What was that?" James asked, when a twig on the road snapped behind them. He whipped around quickly.

"Nothing." Said Sirius quiet quickly, the first noise that he had made since they had begun to walk. Lily spoke quietly again.

"It's probably nothing, calm down James, it's ok, we're almost there." She told him, putting a soothing arm on his, but not turning her head away from the way that they were walking.

Then, as suddenly as she had started, Lily stopped. Right in front of a hard stone wall.

"Here." Lily muttered, running her hands over the hard stone. James just stared.

"Lily, there is no way that we can get in there." He said quietly, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. Lily ignored him. There was something that she hadn't thought of…something that would help her…

But nothing came. After standing in front of the wall for what seemed like forever, Lily groaned in frustration, and sat with her back against it, her head in her hands, feeling utterly defeated. James knelt in front of her.

"Sorry Lily." He said quietly. "I guess we can go back to the village, and ask someone…" he suggested pathetically, yet without must deliberation. Lily shook her head softly, and allowed James to pull her to her feet, but not wanting to leave the spot. There seemed to be something that she should have thought of. Something simply that she had forgotten.

Why was it that she could here something, calling to her, and the other two couldn't? They wee just as pure as she was, just as determined to find the stone…why was it that Lily knew where to come?

As though it had been listening to her thoughts, or tracing her feelings, the tiny bloodstone in Lily pocket suddenly seared with heat, and she snatched it up in her hand at once, it's warm smooth surface feeling comforting in the palm of her hand.

Lily pressed it up against the wall.

James gasped, Sirius just stared, and Lily leapt back in fright, clutching at James robes and trying not to loose the bloodstone that she had drawn from the tiny velvet bag. The wall that had previously stood so solidly in front of them had moved apart, the flawless skin of it's hard surface undamaged as it moved smoothly back, leaving a large opening in it's place.

And there it was. In all it's ancient glory, radiating power from its bright alluring visage. A large green stone, sitting in the middle of the cave on a stone stand, red cracks all over it's perfect surface giving out a scarlet light so fierce that it danced on the walls beautifully and cast a crimson light melting over them all, as Lily and James stepped into the cave, cautious.

It was as though Sirius had suddenly remembered why they were there. He leapt forward and ran for the stone in the centre of the cave, his arms stretching out in anxiety, and reaching out to grasp its unblemished façade.

Sirius clasped his hand around the stone, and…nothing happened.

He lifted it off the stand it was rested on…nothing happened. James let out a triumphant whoop, and gabbed Lily into a rib cracking hug, spinning her around wildly, and grinning crazily. Lily squealed, throwing her arms in the air. They expected Sirius to run right up to them, laughing, even crying in relief as Lily was now doing…

Sirius didn't even blink when he neared James and Lily. He didn't slow down. He kept on walking, straight past the place where James and Lily where celebrating. They quietened down.

"Sirius?" asked Lily.

Sirius didn't reply, he just kept on walking. Lily caught sight of his eyes. They seemed to be going wild, flashing with something like determination, yet at the same time looking oddly blank. Something was wrong. Suddenly, they seemed to light up, and he threw the heliotrope with what seemed to be enormous effort, so that it hit the far wall of the cave and bounced back down onto the floor, without a crack or a splinter.

"Crucio!" cried Bellatrix Lestrange, stepping out from behind the entrance of the cave, infuriated that her imperius curse had been defeated. James and Lily took one quick look at each other, and then watched in pain as Sirius fell.

He let out a horrible scream and twitched and writhed horribly on the ground.

Another Death Eater, who had his hood hiding all but his irate eyes, came out behind her, and pointed his wand at James.

Lily pointed her wand at him, an, without a noise, the man stopped in mid movement, frozen by her spell.

"It wont hold for long." She muttered to James, getting ready to take on Bellatrix, "Just keep fighting them until we can get the stone." She said desperately, and threw her wand into the air, as James moved forward to continue with the frozen Death Eater.

"Deflecto!" Bellatrix screamed, the stunning spell that Lily had been casting on her rebounding in a flash of blinding light, and hitting the other side of the cave, shattering the rock of the wall where it had hit and sending pieces of jagged stone crumbling mercilessly to the ground.

But it was enough. Sirius rolled over onto his stomach, and lay, face first on the floor of the cave, groaning in agony, though no longer screaming. Bellatrix didn't seem to care. The red haired girl with the fiery eyes that stood before her was much more of a problem to her now. Her cousin would have to wait.

"Cruc-"

"Expelliarmus!" cried Lily, cutting Bellatrix off in shock and sending the death eater's wand flying out of the entrance of the cave…

Meanwhile, on the other side of the cave, James Potter was dodging and ducking the curses thrown at him by the masked death eater, his deep, taunting voice haunting James, but not so much that he couldn't utilise the excellent reflexes that being a chaser for six years had given him. Unable to get a curse in himself, James was forced to roll on the ground and jump over beams of light as they blasted out a him from the tip of the abnormally thick wand that the death eater was brandishing,

James dared to glance over at where Lily was fighting Bellatrix, but his sight was blinded by a cruciatus curse that was blasted just passed his right ear, and he shelved his worries, and drew his wand.

Bellatrix's eyes opened in horror when she realised that her wand was so far out of reach. Lily watched, as Bellatrix's ruthless eyes darted from the entrance of the cave, where her wand lay abandoned and useless, to the bloodstone in the corner. She needed to get what she came for…

Lestrange ran, across the cave, and Lily found her, screaming so loud that she thought her lungs would burst. The words that she had pondered over so many times in her head rang out in her ears as though someone was shouting them at her…history would repeat itself in the worst possible way if Bellatrix Lestrange got her hands on that stone…it was too late, she couldn't make it in time…There was no way that she could get to the stone before Bellatrix did, her black hair whipping her shoulders as she dived for it…

"Reducto!" Lily cried, and the stone blew up in a cloud of red smoke and shards of stone.

She could see nothing. For a moment she thought that the spell hadn't worked, and all the smoke was from Bellatrix reaching the stone in time, but before the case of dread enveloped her she caught sight of James through the fog.

"Appearate!" she cried, desperately. Lunging for Sirius' lifeless body, lying immobile on the other side of the cave, Lily grasped him close to her, and apparated back to Hogsmeade.

A/N: well, I thought that that would be a great cliffhanger to leave you with, but then I remembered that Sirius was Sirius so you weren't really wondering whether he survived or not! Haha. Well, that was hard to write, I'm better at fluff, and being cute than I am at writing action, so I hope that you don't mind if this wasn't the best chapter. This story, as you can probably tell, is almost at its fateful end, and I hope that you have enjoyed it so far. At least one more chapter. Don't forget, keep watching out for the follow up; 'The Official Documents Of The Order Of The Phoenix'

**Luv Ella xXx**


	28. The Hogs Head Inn

**A/N: Hope you like it! Thanks for the reviews! **

Panting, tears covering her distressed face, Lily looked up to see James standing over her, before turning her attention to Sirius, who was lying, limp in her arms.

She felt around his wrist for a pulse, frantically, her hand shaking madly as she groped at his hand, James kneeling now on the other side of their friend, pain etched into every corner of his face as he studied Sirius' condition.

There it was. A weak pulse swept through Sirius's limp figure.Lily let out a sigh of relief, and broken down crying all over again. She was a mess. She had just destroyed one of the most powerful magical objects she had ever heard of, and now there was no hope for Remus.

"You had too." James said, encouragingly, gripping hold of her arm and giving her a grim smile, knowing what must be going through her head. "You had no choice. We would have all been…" he trailed off, not wanting to discuss what would have happened had a death eater ouched the bloodstone, and instead embracing Lily tightly, and picking up Sirius.

Slowly, but surely James picked himself up from the ground and led his friends back into the main street of the cobbled little village, walking not to the Three Broomsticks as Lily had suspected he would be taking her, but instead to the Hogs Head.

A lip of sunlight could be seen peeking over the horizon mockingly their tiredness, but Sirius' breathing was light and battered and his pulse was hazy. James kept walking determinedly.

Exhausted, he passed the rickety sign that showed the entrance to the dingy pub and swung the door opened. The room was deserted, with the exception of the ever-present barman, who stood stooped, behind the counter.

Lily looked at James quizzically, and he leant closer to her so that the barman couldn't hear him whisper.

"He was at the meeting. He knows Dumbledore, he'll be more help to us than Rosmerta or Cass could be at the moment." He said quietly, and Lily nodded, approaching the bar.

But before James could even open his mouth to tell the barman, who was eyeing them with caution and curiosity, of their predicament, a solemn voice spoke James' name from the staircase.

James and Lily turned quickly, James taking care of Sirius, who was held tightly in his arms, and saw a man standing in the rickety staircase that made them sigh with relief.

Dumbledore gave them a worried yet encouraging smile, and hurried forward, as James lay Sirius down on a table in front of his, James' weak limbs groaning as they were alleviated of his weight.

He knelt before Sirius and muttered something, whipping a thin wand out of his robes swiftly. He stayed there for a moment or two, muttering away while James and Lily looked on anxiously, watching intently as Sirius' breathing got louder, and the pained expression on his face lessened, so that by the time Dumbledore looked up at them Sirius was sleeping calmly.

"Where were you tonight? Are you alright?" he asked, offering them seats.

"I don't think that we should talk about it here Professor." Said James quickly, as Lily opened her mouth to speak. With a swift, apologetic look at Aberforth, Dumbledore stood from his chair once again, and levitated Sirius with his wand held aloof in front of him.

"Of course. I am staying here tonight; I thought it best not to return to the castle at such an hour, as I am to leave again early this morning, so my brother has kindly offered me a suite here for the night. We can talk privately in my parlour. Please follow me."

He said, and led the way back up the staircase to a small room at the end of the landing.

Forwarding inside, James scanned the room curiously, despite their unusual circumstances. It was far from the elaborate furnishings that one would expect Dumbledore to ordinarily stay in. The bed was made, and the table had been wiped clean, but the floors were covered with a thick impenetrable layer of grim, and the chairs looked as though they might fall to pieces at any moment.

Nether the less, James accepted the one that Dumbledore drew out for him, and Lily sat down similarly, Dumbledore laying Sirius down gently on the bed, and sat himself down opposite Lily and James, looking at them, concerned. Lily opened her mouth to talk, however, couldn't get one word out before she began crying again. James grabbed hold of her cold hand under the table, and began to speak. He couldn't, however, find the right words with which to begin…

"We found the heliotrope sir." He said simply, looking disgusted with his choice of starter. Dumbledore looked surprised, an expression that James would not have thought possible of his calm features. Not just mild wonder, but utter astonishment stole over his countenance, and James thought it best to continue at once.

And so he talked. He spoke of everything, from their discovery of the bloodstone, and the legend, right up until the moment when he had apparated back to Hogsmeade. The only thing that he left out was the fact that they knew about the heliotrope. He made it sound as though they were looking for the cure for Remus, and that they didn't know why the death eaters were there, however, there was a knowing glint in Dumbledore's bright blue eyes that made reluctant to lye, though the professor didn't ask any questions. He merely nodded serenely and stared at James, lapping up the story.

Lily didn't stop the steady flow of tears that were issuing from her green eyes the whole time that James was talking, and when he got to the part of Lily destroying the stone, she let out a gasp, and put her head in her hands, ashamed of herself.

"No Lily." Dumbledore said, and James laced his arm around her shoulders. "You have no idea how much you have helped tonight. That stone as much better destroyed than used for what Bellatrix wanted it for." He said sadly, and Lily looked up.

"But Remus-"

"I know. I know that it will be devastating, but I think that I am right in saying that Remus didn't ask the three of you to go looking for that stone tonight?" he said, and James and Lily nodded silently. "Then I know that he will not be the least bit disappointed. In fact, I think the fact that the three of you are alive and well will mean a great deal more to him, and that is saying a lot."

Lily gave him a small, watery smile.

"Now, you have all been through a lot tonight, and I am prouder than I can say. Sirius will make a full recovery. Now, I am sure that we could find beds here for you all tonight, however, I know that your friends will be very worried, and I think it best that Madame Pomfry looks over you, and treats you for shock." He said, smiling. "But it is, of course, up to you."

James took a quick glance at Sirius, lying in the bed, and gave a quick nod to Dumbledore.

"I think it would be best if we went back to the school tonight sir." He said, and Dumbledore smiled.

"In that case, I must ask that you don't tell anyone that we cant trust about this, both of you, but we will need the quickest means of transport, and I daresay he is efficient."

Throwing one hand into the air, Dumbledore beamed at the shocked looks that jumped onto Lily and James' face when Fawkes the phoenix was suddenly perched on the headmasters arm.

"Now, if you will hold onto his tail, I will take Sirius along with me." He said, lifting up his sleeping figure, as James and Lily grabbed a hold of the beautiful scarlet plumage protruded from the magnificent bird.

In a shoot of flames, they were gone, and with a rush of heat and flames all four of them were standing in the hospital wing in Hogwarts, Madame Pomfry running towards them promptly, flustered her hair bouncing in her hairnet, and her eyes blotchy with sleep.

"Albus!" she cried, scanning the four people standing on the floor of the hospital, surrounded by empty beds, one of which Dumbledore lay Sirius down in promptly.

"Yes Poppy, good evening, or…" he looked at the light streaming in through the windows. "Or good morning." He said, with a slight chuckle.

Dumbledore didn't tell the matron what they had been through, or where he had found them, but she gave them both potions for shock, and treated the cuts and bruises covering James body, though she said to him that they wouldn't be fully healed for a few days yet, and he was to take it easily.

Sirius was to stay in the hospital wing for two night, and Madame Pomfry asked James and Lily to bring him his things, and study material for their NEWTs, which James laughed at, thinking of Sirius face when he turned yup with loads of work for him in the morning when he woke up. In fact, it was more of a laugh of relief with reassurance that Sirius would be waking up. There had been a very long moment the previous night when he feared that he would never see Padfoot again, and that was something that James hoped he never had to face in his life.

James looked at Dumbledore, and he gave a small nod, smiling. James whispered a quick goodbye to Sirius, and Lily gave him a kiss on the forehead. They said a very sincere thankyou to Dumbledore, and ran through the corridors, sprinting with a renewed energy that was brought on by the potions that they had taken in the hospital wing.

Half way back to Griffindore tower, Lily stopped, and held onto James sleeve with a great beaming grin on her face, her pretty features bent into pure ecstasy.

"We did it James." She said. "We actually did it!" added with a squeal, and he picked her up and kissed her, in the deserted corridor, sunlight glistening on their faces as it streamed in the window. They ran, hand in hand, all the way back to the portrait hole, and burst inside.

They stopped; the common room was relatively quiet, though the three people still sitting inside it hadn't noticed them enter, as they thought that they would. Lily's continued to grin as she went to walk up to Remus, Dani and Ella, whose head was laying on Remus's lap, her chest rising and falling peacefully as she slept.

"No, you can't, don't be stupid. It's not your fault."

"Not you too. An hour ago you were going to come with me!" Remus hissed back.

"I know, but that was stupid. Do we even know where they were going?"

"Chestervalle, I'm sure of it. They said that they'd been there before…"  
"Why the hell had they been there before?" Dani asked, raising her eyebrow. Remus made a frustrated noise, picking up a cushion of the couch and groaning into it. Ella stirred.

"Shit, shhhhh." He soothed, stroking her hair so that she settled down again. James laughed.

Dani and Remus' heads whipped around so fast that they seemed to have enough momentum to fly off their necks all together, and They jumped up from the lounge quickly, their eyes wide.

"Ow!" screamed Ella from the ground, having rolled off their laps. "What they hell did you do that for!"

James and Lily laughed, and Remus hauled her to her feet apologetically. Ella rubbed her eyes, and when they finally focused on the two people standing by the entrance of the common room she gave a squeal so high pitched that Remus cringed, and she wrapped her arms around the necks of both Lily and James, pulling them into a deep hug, tears of relief spilling dangerously into her eyes.

"Um." Dani's eyes were wide open, in fear. "Where is he?" she asked quickly, her brow creasing in terror. James gave her a small encouraging smile.

"He's gonna be fine." He said, grinning. "He's in the hospital wing. I'm sure Dumbledore wouldn't mind if we took you to see him soon, but he's sleeping for the moment." James explained. Dani looked confused. Lily put her arm around Ella.

"I think you'd all better sit down. We have a loooot of explaining to do." She said, and Ella giggled feebly. They moved aside, so that Remus was standing right in front of them, eyes wide, as white as a ghost. Lily burst out crying again, and hugged him.

"I am so sorry. I destroyed it Remus! There's no cure now! I destroyed your only hope." She sobbed into his shoulder. Remus looked shocked, and widened his eyes at James over her heaving shoulder, exasperated.

"Lily, it's ok! It's fine! All that maters is that the three of you are alright, and I cant even believe that you tried to get it!" he said and pried her off him. Lily whipped her red eyes sombrely. James draped his arm around her shoulder, sat down, and didn't stop retelling the story of the night until the common room began to fill with people heading down for breakfast.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please review! I'll love you forever!**

**One more to go! Should be up tomorrow! Please Please Please Reveiw!Press that little blue button to ur left and I will love you forever!**

**-Ella xXx**


	29. Saying goodbye to the castle

Saying goodbye to the castle... not the stag

**Sob (That's all that I can get out.)**

James and Lily stood up, exchanging nervous glances, and resisting the urge to hold each others hands, shelving their emotion for a more professional approach, as they walked up the length of the audience and stood before the crowd, smiling over the podium, ready to give their head boy and girl speech. Lily gave a quick glance at Dumbledore, who gave her an encouraging smile, and then turned back to peer down at the swimming sea of familiar heads.

"Today, we leave Hogwarts forever." Began James, looking around at everyone, smiling. He saw Sirius waving happily from the middle of the crowd, which spurred him on, and banished his atypical bout of nerves. "And I don't think that I am ever going to miss anything more. This school has taught me much more than can be learnt out of books and off teachers. It has taught me how to grow up, how to make friends, and how to love…"

"Living here…" Lily started, her voice wavering nervously. She stopped; taking a quick glance at James whose concerned eyes encouraged her to continue… "Living here over the past seven years has made me happier than I have ever been. I came from a muggle family, who I love, and when I first entered the castle, it felt so scary and alien to me that I am amazed, looking back now, that I didn't hop right back on that train and head back to London. You have no idea hope glad I am that I didn't. I have had so much fun, and learn so much here, and if I could I would go back and do it all over again."

"But we cant." James said, taking over as Lily looked up at the great castle, her voice cracking. "We cant do it again, and so it is with pride that we, the class of nineteen seventy eight leave these grounds, maybe never to return again, for we can say that we were here. We spent the time of our lives at Hogwarts, and the memories and friendships that we have made here, will stay will us forever."

The crowd burst into applause, and Sirius hoisted Dani up onto his shoulders, who cried out in support, as all the scandalised parents applauded politely. Many of the girls in the crowd had tears pouring down their faces. Dumbledore got up next, to deliver his wise words to the many people sitting before him.

Lily looked around at her friend's up and down the row where they were seated. Dumbledore stood up the front, smiling out at them all softly. Ella and Remus sat two seats down from her, holding hands, Remus giving hers a tiny squeeze every so often when Ella seemed to be about to cry, thinking about the fact that this was probably their last day in the castle that had served them so many good times.

Peter and Margaret sat a few seats down from them, hand in hand, Peter seeming nervous, yet happy at the same time. It had come as quiet a shock to the other marauders that morning when Wormtail had confessed to them all that he and Margaret, whom he had taken to the ball earlier in the year, had been seeing each other in secret for many months now, and they were even more surprised that they were already looking for houses together in the city for when they finished Hogwarts…

Dani and Sirius next to James, his arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders, which were high and proud. Dani wasn't one for sentiment, though Lily could tell that when none of them were around she would shed a tear about leaving Hogwarts forever, and Sirius was only half watching the headmaster as he gave his speech. The rest of the time he would glance over and be mesmerised, just staring at Dani, until she hit him on the knee, to redirect his attention. He had been released form the hospital wing a day before their NEWTs were due to begin, but he still didn't think that he had done that badly. He shouldn't have, considering that they had each taken it in turn to go and study with him the whole time that he had been in there, with the exception of Dani, who hadn't left his side since James had finished talking that morning. Madame Pomfry was forced to let her sleep in the next bed, much too scared to say no to her fiery temper.

In fact, they all seemed to find the exams much easier than they thought that they would. Everyone agreed that, like most things, it was the wait that was the worst…

James saw that Lily was watching them all, a tear welling up in her beautiful green eyes, and he squeezed her hand tighter, giving her a wink, and a small smile.

"I'll miss it too." He whispered lightly in her ear. Lily smiled, and squeezed his hand back, turning her attention back to Dumbledore. He was giving his speech, and smiling down at the sea of heads peering up at them intently.

The graduation was taking place on the grounds at the school, the sun hitting their heads gently, the lake spread out soothingly next to the ceremony. Lily dared a glance back at where her parents sat, smiling at her. Petunia hadn't shown up. Lily wasn't surprised, though she couldn't deny that her heart had fallen slightly when her parents had stepped of the train at Hogsmeade station without her in tow. It was probably for the best though; Petunia at Hogwarts would be weirder than anything that Lily could imagine.

Mr and Mrs Potter were sitting next to Lily's parents, having been introduced earlier. Maggie caught Lily's eye, and waved jovially, her tiny mouth curving into an excited smile. Lily laughed quietly, and gave a little wave back, before turning back to the front before anyone but James, who also laughed, had noticed.

"…And I know that this will not be the last that I see of these brilliant people." Dumbledore concluded, to cheers and wild applause from the crowd.

James, Lily, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Ella, and Dani all exchanged looks of surprise, their eyes wide. They could have been imagining things, but they were almost sure that when Dumbledore had said those last few words, his eyes had lingered on them for a little longer than natural.

Parents were now getting up, and going over to where the house elves, directed by Professor McGonagal, were serving refreshments, and the students were running over to join them, throwing their hats up into the air in excitement. Lily held onto hers. As much as she was looking forward to the future, she couldn't bare the thought of throwing it into the air.

"You can do it Lily." A voice whispered in her ear. She turned to find her face very close to James Potter's grinning one, and smiled.

"I know, but I feel as though I would be throwing my childhood away with it. I don't want to forget anything about this place…" She said softly. James kissed her.

"Well I'll always be there to refresh your memory." Lily gave a small giggle, and pulled him in throwing her hat up into the air.

And so Lily Evans left her seventh year at Hogwarts with all the sentiment she was expecting to enter it with.

A/N: oh my god. Oh my god I just finished my story! I finished the first story I have ever been brave enough to post for you all! Thankyou so much for being so supportive! I love you all for reading to the end! Oh my god I'm actually crying! I can't believe that I finished that; I have been working on it for three months, practically every night now! I can't wait to post up the next story though. I hope that you all like it; there won't be much of a wait. It's sort of a sequel, but it doesn't have to be if you haven't read this story, but you're reading this, so obviously you HAVE read this story. Keep an eye out for: The Official Documents of the Order Of The Phoenix. I am really going to miss this story. I don't know what I'll do with myself now!

**Thanks to all my regular reviewers and P/Mers, and also to anyone who has reviewed! I might not have many, but I treasure every single one of them! Seriously, I got so excited when I had more reviews than chapters, that was such a big thing for me! Thanks to Mezo, Moony and Silver Blossom, who reviewed so regularly, thanks heaps!uve been there since the start! **

**So, luv u all. The next story should be up tomorow! please read it! and reveiw! **

**Luv Ella Evans xXx**


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